


True North

by wildlingoftarth



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bathrooms, Bathtub Sex, Camping, Cunnilingus, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Face-Sitting, Fluff and Smut, Hotels, Masturbation, Mild Smut, Post-Break Up, Sex, Shower Sex, Sloppy Makeouts, Smut, Tent Sex, Travel, Vaginal Fingering, Wow there is a lot of water sex in this fic, briemund
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2020-04-05 02:41:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 42,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19039513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildlingoftarth/pseuds/wildlingoftarth
Summary: Modern AU in which Brienne tries to soothe her broken heart with an adventure in the North – and an intriguing red-bearded wilderness guide.





	1. Winterfell Inn

_I was walking through icy streams that took my breath away_  
_Moving slowly through westward water, over glacial plains_  
_And I walked off you_  
_And I walked off an old me_  
_Oh me, oh my, I thought it was a dream_  
_So it seemed_  
_–Maggie Rogers, “Alaska”_

\-----------------------------------------------------

Brienne stepped off the airport shuttle and stood in front of the Winterfell Inn, taking the deepest breath she could to fill her lungs with the incredibly clean, crisp Northern air. It smelled like pine and campfire and rain, and made her feel nostalgic for her childhood home on Tarth.

She gawked for a moment at the inn, which was not at all what she was expecting. The word “inn” conjured up images of a homey little cottage with a few rooms for rent, not this literal castle that had been restored and turned into a four-star hotel. Brienne would have never sprung for such an extravagance, but her best friend Sansa had insisted on upgrading their vacation package. Her family was from the North and was very well-connected (not to mention filthy rich) so she’d easily secured the best lodgings and attractions, and very generously offered to pay the difference. Brienne knew that once Sansa had an idea in her mind, there was no budging her it, so she reluctantly conceded while assuring Sansa that she would pay her back once she graduated and got an actual job. She knew Sansa would never accept her money, but it made her feel better to offer. 

Brienne and Sansa, along with their other two best friends, Margaery and Renly, had come North for their annual end-of-school “friendcation,” a tradition started the summer after their freshman year at King’s Landing University. The four had become inseparable that year and had stayed close all through college, spending the first two weeks of each summer at a different destination. It made Brienne a little misty to think that this was their last vacation together – they were heading into their senior year, and from there they would go their separate ways into the real world. She shook the idea out of her head, determined to make the most of this time with her friends. 

“Come on Bri, you just gonna stand there and stare or are we going inside?” Margaery playfully slapped Brienne on the ass while running past her into the grand entrance of the inn. Sansa and Renly followed with Brienne close on their heels. Brienne crossed the threshold into the lobby and stared in awe – the floors were marble with inlaid wolf designs, the ceilings gilded and coffered, the chandeliers bigger than her living room in King’s Landing. Sansa went to check in at the registration desk, so Brienne sat on one of the plush maroon banquettes with Margaery and Renly. 

“How AMAZING is this place!?” wondered Renly as he gestured around the room, obviously as awestruck as Brienne. Renly was actually her oldest friend, having both grown up on Tarth. Brienne nursed a powerful crush on him all throughout childhood until he realized in high school that he preferred the same sex. That Brienne was the first person he told only cemented their friendship, and they grew even closer when they both chose KLU for college. Renly was studying business to prepare for his eventual takeover of his family’s commercial fishery on Tarth. 

“Enjoy it, because after tonight, it’s tents and sleeping bags for a while,” Margaery smiled at him while he ogled his surroundings. Brienne and Margaery had become acquainted in one of their classes – Brienne was pre-law and Margaery was studying criminal justice, so they shared several electives. They were paired together for a project in Intro to Criminology and bonded over their eventual desire to help those in need. Margaery had the softest heart of anyone Brienne had ever known, and her ultimate career goal was to work with victims of human trafficking in Meereen. She also grew up in King’s Landing, so spectacles like these were not quite as thrilling to her as they were to Brienne and Renly.

Sansa finished checking in and walked toward them, her long auburn ponytail swinging behind her. Sansa was Brienne’s freshman year roommate, and although they were cautious with each other at first, they soon developed a strong friendship during long late-night talks about their families, pasts and futures. Sansa was studying graphic design at KLU, but her real passion was 3-D art – she created beautiful sculptures, fiber art pieces, and mixed-media collages in her free time, some of which had been shown at the school’s art gallery. Graphic design was a way to have a steady income, but Brienne was confident that Sansa would be recognized one day for her other artistic talents.

“Alright assholes, let’s go up and see these rooms!” Sansa commanded in her typical brusque yet affectionate manner. It was one of the things she loved about Sansa – she never minced words and could be harsh at times, but she was also fiercely loyal, generous, and would do anything for her friends. Sansa was the hardest one to convince that a vacation in the North would be fun. Although she grew up here, she was a decidedly “indoorsy” person who would much rather spend her time at an all-inclusive resort on the beach than traipsing through the wilderness. But since Brienne was the one nursing a broken heart, her opinion ultimately held more sway this year.

It had been a little over six months since Brienne and Jaime broke up. He was older, an MBA student preparing to succeed his father as CEO of investment management firm Lannister, Inc. They met when he was the graduate assistant in one of her financial law courses, their relationship starting out adversarial when she challenged him on a grade for a paper she’d worked extremely hard on. She eventually convinced him to change her grade, and he was so impressed by her arguments that he created a whole lesson around it. After the class was over for the semester, he invited her for coffee to thank her for letting him use her as an example. An uneasy friendship developed, which eventually blossomed into something more. 

Brienne still wasn’t sure what he had seen in her – she was plain, gawky, and unsophisticated, while he was dazzlingly handsome, rich, and arguably the most eligible bachelor in Casterly Rock. It was his family that ultimately drove them apart – his father and twin sister had no qualms about making her feel like an outsider, like she would never be good enough for their Jaime. Brienne was used to insults being hurled at her throughout her very awkward childhood, but the fact that Jaime never stood up to them or defended her, at least in her presence, caused a divide between them that couldn’t be mended. After three years of dating, she finally broke things off for good that winter. The relief that she wouldn’t have to see his family again was no match for the crushing sense of loss she felt, but she knew she would never truly be happy or welcomed as a Lannister.

Jaime had been her first everything – first boyfriend, first lover, first heartbreak. She threw herself even further into her studies after the breakup, but she’d never really taken the time to confront her complex feelings about the matter. This is why she suggested coming North for their vacation – time in nature had always cleared her mind and helped her find peace. Although Tarth was warmer and lusher, the forests, mountains and rivers of the North brought back wonderful memories of hiking, fishing, foraging and spending nearly all her time outdoors as a child.

Willing herself back to the present, she stepped onto the ornate elevator with her friends and pushed the button for the highest floor. Listening to their lively banter was pulling her out of the funk she just fell in while thinking about Jaime, and by the time they reached the door to their suite, she was even more excited than she had been on the plane coming here. Sansa unlocked the door and opened it with a flourish, holding her arms out and grinning as they stepped into the room.

Margaery screamed and immediately hopped onto one of the beds, jumping up and down like a little kid. Renly ran to the huge window and threw the curtains open, revealing a breathtaking view of the green forests and snow-capped mountains of the North. The room was bigger than Brienne’s apartment and had two separate sleeping areas, a full kitchen, HUGE bathroom with walk-in shower and whirlpool tub, and living room furnished with ornate gold and maroon velvet furniture.

Brienne looked at Sansa and wrapped her in a huge bear hug before she could protest. “You’re the best,” she told her, holding her in her strong arms even as she struggled against the embrace. Sansa eventually relaxed and reciprocated the hug, saying, “I know.” They laughed and stepped further into the room, where Renly had already found the stereo and gotten busy playing DJ.

“Sansa, where are we going out tonight?” asked Margaery, whose long, light brown hair was becoming increasingly wild as she jumped on the bed.

“Oh, I am NOT going out tonight!” protested Brienne, bone-tired from the long travel day and looking forward to doing nothing more than sinking into one of the plush beds.

Renly looked at her with a mix of love and pity, then walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. “Brienne. You ARE going out tonight. We are here to help you get over your douchebag ex, and the only way to do that is to get under someone else!” This made her laugh despite herself, and sensing she wasn’t going to get out of this one, she pleaded, “Can we at least go someplace with food? I’m STARVING.”

Since Sansa was familiar with the area, she suggested a bar & grill called the She Wolf. She insisted that they had the best burgers in town, and Brienne’s stomach grumbled in approval. Margaery, Sansa and Renly began rifling through their suitcases to find something to wear while Brienne plopped down on one of the couches with a heavy thunk. Margaery looked in her direction and said, “Bri, please tell me you’re not thinking of wearing that out.”

Brienne looked down at her white V-neck t-shirt, black skinny jeans and gray Converse. “What’s wrong with this?” Her friends all fixed her with a look that said _oh, honey, no_ , before pulling her off the couch and opening her suitcase, flinging her stuff on the bed despite her repeated objections.

“Did you not bring ANYTHING cute?” Sansa asked incredulously while pawing through her t-shirts.

“We’re camping nearly the whole time! I wasn’t aware camping required going-out clothes!” Brienne nudged Sansa out of the way and pulled out the royal blue halter top she’d thrown in as an afterthought. “How about this?” She held up the top and everyone nodded in approval. Margaery clapped and squealed, “Exactly the color of your eyes! Now just let me put some makeup on you and you’ll be the hottest girl in Winterfell.”

Brienne slouched and groaned, but she knew better than to resist, lest she end up duct taped to a chair getting her eyes gouged out by makeup brushes. She let Margaery lead her to the bathroom and sat on the edge of the tub. Margaery was surprisingly subtle with the makeup – just a little black eyeliner, mascara, blush and shimmery lip gloss. After she was done, Brienne changed into the blue top, leaving her black jeans on and replacing her Converse with flat black sandals. She stepped back and assessed her refection in the bathroom’s full-length mirror.

Her white-blonde hair now reached her chin (Jaime preferred it short, so of course she began growing it out immediately after the breakup) and was parted on the side and tucked behind her ears, one side swooped slightly over her eye. Her sapphire blue eyes did look especially striking with a little eyeliner and mascara, and her milky complexion warmed with the addition of the blush. Her full lips looked even more plump with the sparkling gloss on top. Girls on Tarth used to tease her about her lips, but now they paid good money for theirs to look like hers.

The halter top accentuated her broad shoulders, defined arms and muscular back. She turned to the side and appraised her mile-long legs, her second-favorite feature besides her eyes, and her round butt. She taught mixed martial arts three times a week and trained another three, so her body was built for power and speed. Sometimes she wished she were more petite and feminine like Sansa or Margaery, but then she wouldn’t be able to beat almost all the guys in the gym, which was much more satisfying than being whistled at on the street.

She knew she was not pretty – “statuesque” and “striking” were some of the more complimentary words used to describe her appearance – but tonight, she felt confident and pleased with how she looked. She emerged from the bathroom and blushed scarlet as her friends hooted, hollered and clapped. She shook her head and chuckled, “I hate you all,” but she secretly loved the affirmation.

Maraery looked sexy and tough in her black leather skirt, white tank top and denim jacket. Sansa, ever the fashion plate, had chosen a halter jumpsuit with black, yellow, white and maroon stripes. Renly looked casual yet chic in his dark jeans and black button-up.

The hotel had sent up a bottle of champagne and four glasses (perks of reserving the most expensive room in the place), and Sansa popped the cork with a shriek. She poured four glasses and passed them out, raising hers in a toast. “To our Brienne,” she said with a smile. “The only person I would gladly suffer in the wilderness for.” They laughed, clinked their glasses together and drank, with Brienne reminding them in her best mom voice that they had to meet their guides at 8 a.m. sharp tomorrow morning. They drained their glasses and closed the door behind them. There was promise in the air as they walked out of the hotel and into the Winterfell night.


	2. The She-Wolf

Brienne, Sansa, Margaery and Renly walked the three blocks to the She-Wolf laughing and joking, teasing Renly about his man of the moment (Brienne didn’t bother to learn their names anymore) and prodding Sansa about how far she’d gone with her new boyfriend, Sandor. Sandor was a football player at KLU, a hulking man who could make even Brienne feel small, and the innuendos and jokes about the size of his manhood really wrote themselves. It took a lot to make Sansa blush, but her cheeks were crimson by the time they arrived at the She-Wolf.

They walked under the red neon sign into the bar. It was surprisingly large and crowded inside. Several tables and chairs were set up in front, with a bar to the right, and two pool tables, a jukebox, and a small stage in the back for karaoke where an already-drunk man was droning out “Jenny of Oldstones.” The four sat down at one of the tables and ordered drinks – vodka soda for Brienne, margaritas for Margaery and Sansa, whiskey for Renly. They looked over the menus before all taking Sansa’s suggestion of the burger and fries.

Brienne surveyed the other patrons of the bar. It was quite an eclectic crowd – groups of young people, older couples, tourists, and lots of men with the stereotypical Northern, mountain-man look. Her eyes came to rest on one group of such men, who looked to be about their age, sitting at one of the tables across the bar. They all had shaggy hair and long beards in a spectrum ranging from blonde to red to black.

The biggest one, whose hair and beard were flame-red, was sitting on the table, with the others in chairs around him. He looked to be holding court, enrapturing his crowd with an animated tale, swinging his arms and sloshing liquid out of the actual horn he was drinking from. Replace his white t-shirt and jeans with a fur cloak and breeches and he would be right at home in any folk tale about wildlings and ice dragons. His smile was so wide and eyes so sparkling that she couldn’t help but watch him.

He looked over his friends’ heads and locked eyes with Brienne. He froze mid-story, stopped gesticulating and rested his forearms on his thighs, leaning in her direction. He fixed her with a gaze so intense that she blushed from her chest to the roots of her hair. She looked away quickly, embarrassed to have been caught staring. After a few minutes, she risked another glance and saw that he had continued his story, but kept flicking his eyes to her.

Brienne tried to concentrate on her friends and her burger, but found it hard to ignore the heat of his stare. He was not at all her type (at least she didn’t think he was) – why did she find him so intriguing? She was feeling very antsy all of a sudden, so as soon as they all finished eating, she challenged her friends to a game of pool. They agreed, but Sansa set a requirement that they had to do a shot first. She ran to the bar to get four tequila shots while the others set up the pool table.

They clinked the shots together and threw them back, the warmth spreading down Brienne’s throat and into her belly. She didn’t drink much, but she did enjoy the way it loosened her up and made everything just a little funnier. 

They started their game of pool, Sansa and Renly on one team, Margaery and Brienne on the other. Brienne wasn’t great at pool, but she was VERY competitive, so she quickly got in the zone and forgot about the red-haired man. That is, until Margaery whispered in her ear, “Don’t look now, but there’s a guy at the bar who has been giving you MAJOR fuck-me eyes for the last half hour.”

Brienne pretended not to know who she was talking about, scoffing, “He’s probably looking at you.”

“He is DEFINITELY not looking at me.”

Brienne shot a glance over her shoulder and saw him leaning back against the bar, staring at her with an intensity that did not match up with his casual posture. Her eyes dropped down to the sliver of exposed skin at the bottom of his shirt, a trail of red hair just visible above the waistband of his jeans. Her cheeks blazed as she turned back to Margaery. “See,” Margaery said with a knowing look.

“What are we whispering about?” Renly inquired when he saw them with their heads together. Sansa bounded over too, always up for gossip.

“The guy who's been eye-fucking Brienne all night, over there at the bar.”

“Don’t look!!” Brienne hissed, already mortified, but of course her friends completely ignored her pleas.

“The ginger mountain man? Oh, he’s CUTE. A real rugged type,” Renly said as he appraised the man.

“Go talk to him, Bri!” Sansa goaded. “How long has it been since you got a little action?” 

Brienne damned her pale skin as she blushed even redder. “We are NOT talking about this right now! I’m going to the bathroom.” She pushed past them and made her way to the back of the bar, purposely ignoring the redhead still leaning against the bar. 

In the bathroom, Brienne did her business quickly but stayed there for longer than she needed to, trying to steady herself. This did not normally happen to her, and it felt a bit unsettling if she was honest. But hadn’t she come North to have new experiences and forget about the past? Making up her mind, she stood up straight and hyped herself up in the mirror. She’d go talk to him, that was all. What could it hurt?

She opened the door, stepped out into the hallway without watching where she was going, and smacked straight into the man in question. He was so solid that she actually bounced off of him instead of knocking him over like she normally would. She stumbled backward and almost fell, but he grabbed her wrist and caught her just before she hit the ground, pulling her into his chest.

“I’ve got you,” he said, fixing her with his clear green eyes. She was suddenly extremely aware of how close they were, his hand in the middle of her back, hers gripping his bicep. She cleared her throat and took a step back, extricating herself from his grip. 

“Thank you,” she muttered, standing up to her full height so that their eyes were at the same level.

“My pleasure,” he said, looking at her through heavy eyelids. “I didn’t plan that, by the way. Just a happy accident.” He flashed a wolfish grin and brushed past her into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

She stood there, flustered, body still tingling from where it had been pressed against his. She looked toward her friends, who were belting out a rousing rendition of “The Bear and the Maiden Fair” and paying no attention to their friend who they thought was using the bathroom.

_Fuck it_ , she thought to herself, emboldened by the tequila. _I’m never going to see this guy again_. _Might as well have some fun._

He swung the door open and, before her courage ran out, she grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pushed him back into the bathroom. She swung the door shut with her foot and leaned back against it, pulling him toward her and crashing her mouth against his. He let out a quick startled sound, followed by what sounded suspiciously like a growl. He braced one hand on the door and wrapped the other around her waist, pressing her body against his.

Their mouths opened at the same time, tongues meeting with a spark that sent a rush of heat through her nerve endings. Their tongues swirled and circled, teeth pulling on each others’ bottom lips, hands exploring faces and necks and backs. Brienne’s heart was racing, breath becoming ragged, spurred on by his little moans and gasps. The flutter in her belly moved south and settled firmly between her thighs.

It had been half a year since she’d been touched like this, and it felt so good to have someone’s hands roaming over her body and mouth exploring hers. He cupped her ass and pushed it closer to him so that she could feel the evidence of his arousal, hard and thick against her thigh. She throbbed so intensely her knees almost went weak. Suddenly, she gasped against his mouth. _I **will** fuck this stranger in a bathroom if I go any further_, Brienne realized, that being a line she was not willing to cross tonight.

She pushed him away and they just looked at each other for a moment, eyes wide, chests heaving. She felt behind her for the doorknob and stammered, “I need to get back out there to my friends,” before swinging the door open and practically running out of the bathroom. He followed her a few seconds later, shouting, “Wait! Can I at least get your name?” 

The corners of her mouth twitched upward and heat flooded her cheeks as she thought about what she’d just done as she made her way to her friends. They must have taken a few more shots when she was gone, because they were swaying on their feet near the door. “Ok, time to go, we have an early morning tomorrow!” she said as nonchalantly as she could, hoping her flushed face and slightly trembling voice didn’t give her away. Surprisingly, they didn’t protest and filed out of the bar.

Brienne glanced back at the redhead, still standing in the bathroom hallway with an astounded look on his face. She shot him a smile, which he reciprocated while shaking his head, and walked out of the bar. 

 

* * *

 

The next morning, they were all feeling a little worse for wear as they packed up and made their way to the front of the hotel where they were to meet their guides. Brienne looked for a van marked “True North Expeditions,” the name of the tour company. She spotted it across the parking lot and herded her friends toward it. She had originally booked a group tour, but Sansa insisted that they would enjoy themselves more on a private tour where they could set the agenda for each day. Brienne thought two tour guides for four people was overkill, but what Sansa wanted, Sansa got.

One of their guides was standing outside of the van, waiting for them with his hands in his pockets. He had blonde hair down to his shoulders, a dark blonde beard, and icy blue eyes. “I’m Alek,” he said, shaking each of their hands and asking their names. “I’ll be your assistant guide for this trip. Your main guide is back there finishing up the packing.” He gestured to an outline of a man moving around in the back of the van.

Brienne heard the back doors slam and watched him come around to the front of the van.

Her mouth dropped open. Her stomach did a flip.

Red hair. Red beard. Broad chest. Clear green eyes.

He did an almost-imperceptible stutter step as he locked eyes with her, then continued moving toward the group. The corners of his mouth twitched upward slightly as he passed her. He was still smiling as he came to stand next to Alek.

“I’m Tormund,” he said, looking at each member of the group before settling his eyes on Brienne, flashing the same devilish grin she’d seen the night before. “I’ll be your guide for the next two weeks.”


	3. On the Road

 

_Fuck. Fuckfuckfuck._

_So much for never seeing him again._

Brienne silently admonished herself for being so impulsive last night. Now it was coming back to bite her in the ass in the form of having to share extremely close quarters for the next 13 days with her bar bathroom hook-up.

The other three introduced themselves to him, but all she could do was watch him and try not to broadcast her embarrassment. He stopped in front of her and asked, “And you might be?” 

“Brienne,” she managed to spit out. She took his proffered hand, large and warm, and he held on to it for a beat longer than was standard. 

“So that’s it. Briennnne.” He rolled her name around in his mouth and all but purred it out. That, coupled with the feel of her hand enveloped in his, sent a tingle through her she wasn’t prepared for. She snatched her hand back. “Pleased to meet you, Tormund,” she said, far too formally. “Likewise,” he responded softly. His eyes glinted at her, then moved back to the rest of the group. 

“Alrighty!” he exclaimed, clapping his hands together. She wondered at how quickly he could switch from the seductive voice he’d employed just moments ago to this perky, ebullient one. “You are in for a treat the next two weeks. We have a rough agenda planned, but this trip is really all about you, so if you want to change, add or remove anything, we’ll make it happen. Alek and I are at your service.” He did a play bow that made them all chuckle. 

While he went over the agenda for the next few days, Margaery nudged her and whispered, “Isn’t that the guy who was staring at you at the bar last night?” Brienne responded, “No-I-don’t-think-so” too quickly and with too high-pitched of a voice to be convincing. “It is!” Margaery squealed with glee, eliciting a shush and a smack on her arm from Brienne.

They didn’t (and WOULDN’T) know about the makeout session, but they did remember how Tormund had been looking at her. She knew her friends well enough to know that many obvious attempts on their part at getting her and Tormund alone were in her future.

Tormund finished up with his speech and directed everyone into the van. From what Brienne had gathered amid her distraction, they were going to be driving two hours into the Wolfswood to set up camp at the foot of Mount Catelyn. That would be their home base for the next three days, from which they could hike, climb, paddle, or do any number of outdoor activities.

Brienne felt more relaxed just thinking about being in the woods, so she didn’t even protest when Margaery insisted she take the front passenger seat next to Tormund. Margaery, who had already taken a shine to Alek, climbed into the third row with him, and Sansa and Renly took the middle bench.

After everyone else got in, she opened the door and settled in next to Tormund. “Ready for an adventure?” He grinned at her, and she smiled back despite herself. “Yes, I think I am.”

The group settled into an easy banter on the drive, Tormund and Alek regaling them with tales of the interesting things they’d seen and the characters they’d encountered on their tours. Brienne looked out the window at the intensely green trees rushing by and thought of Tarth, of her family, specifically her brother and mother. They had been gone 10 years, and she could now think back on them with warmth instead of pure sadness, but she still thought of them every day and wondered what they would be doing if they were still here.

She shook herself out of her reverie and rejoined the conversation, which had somehow veered into embarrassing childhood stories. Brienne was a supremely awkward child and had too many to count, but finally settled on sharing the time she got up to receive an award at a school assembly and fell face-first down the bleachers. “I REMEMBER THAT!” shrieked Renly. “You gave yourself a bloody nose!” They laughed hysterically, Brienne wiping tears from her cheeks.

Turning to face Renly, she warned mischievously, “Don’t make fun of me too much or I’ll tell them about the time in high school when I walked in on you and your ‘friend’ doing a ‘school project,’” making air quotes around the words. “Hey, I am NOT embarrassed by that. He was the first of many straight boys I have had the pleasure of flipping.” They dissolved into laughter again before settling into a comfortable silence for a while.

She looked over at Tormund, who was focusing on the road with one hand draped over the top of the steering wheel and a soft smile playing on his face. His skin was as pale as hers, but covered with a dusting of red freckles. His strong nose looked as if it had suffered its share of breaks, and she unconsciously pressed a finger to the bump on hers, making a note to swap war stories later. His hair and beard were long but well-groomed, and a shade of red she did not know occurred in nature.

He looked so at ease that she almost forgot this was the same intense, lascivious man she’d encountered at the bar last night. Brienne blushed crimson and looked away before he caught her.

The rest of the drive flew by as they told stories, good-naturedly teased each other, and talked about what they hoped to do on their trip. They would be spending three days at Mount Catelyn before driving north to the glacier, then east to the coast and back, with stops at several national parks and mountain towns in between.

Brienne was excited about all of it, but especially seeing the coast. She told them about how she missed the open ocean desperately, the small bay in King’s Landing a poor substitute for the never-ending sapphire waters surrounding Tarth.

The drive became hillier as they approached Mount Catelyn, but the forest was still so dense that they couldn’t see much besides the trees on either side of them. Tormund turned from the main road onto a smaller dirt path, where the view opened up to a breathtaking scene.

The snow-capped mountain loomed in the distance, surrounded by forests and grassy fields in such an intense shade of green it almost hurt her eyes. She gasped, and Tormund turned to chuckle at her. “Beautiful, isn’t she? I’ve seen this a hundred times, but it never gets old.” The wonder in his eyes assured her he was speaking the truth.

He pulled off the road onto a flat clearing where they would be setting up camp. Although she’d relaxed considerably around Tormund on the drive, she still felt she needed to clear the air about what had happened the night before. She helped out around the campsite while awaiting her chance, her early wilderness experience proving valuable as she set up two tents in less time than Sansa and Renly had set up one.

Margaery was busy following Alek around, feigning interest in his water filtration system, when she saw Tormund heading into the forest to gather firewood. She saw this as her chance and followed him, ignoring the snickers of her friends behind her.

“Tormund! I’ll help,” she shouted, catching up to him in three long strides. He turned toward her in surprise. “You gonna push me up against a tree this time?” he grinned roguishly.

“About that,” she said, the stern look on her face wiping the smile off his. “That was very out of character for me, and I would appreciate you keeping it between the two of us. It was a mistake and it will not happen again.” She said the second part as much for her as she did for him, as if speaking it out loud would strengthen her resolve. There was something about this man, his straightforward demeanor, his sparkling green eyes, that chipped away at her carefully-constructed walls.

His face was serious as he responded. “I understand, and I promise,” he held up his right hand as if swearing an oath, “that I will not kiss you, touch you, or lay a finger on you.” He lowered his hand and leaned slightly closer, lowering his voice and murmuring into her ear. “Not unless you ask me to.” He winked at her before turning away to look for kindling, whistling nonchalantly as if he hadn’t just heated her blood to near-boiling.

She stood there for a moment, mouth open, frozen by his audacity. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and steadied herself before walking back to the campsite, Tormund’s words still echoing in her head.


	4. The Hike

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Caution - mild smut ahead!  
> 8,000+ words and we're only on day two. LOL this is going to be a beast, I apologize in advance.

Even though Brienne had only been in the woods a few minutes, serious plotting had occurred while she was gone.

“We decided that guy/girl tents would be more comfortable for all of us,” Margaery informed her with a sly smile. “Bri, you and Tormund are in that one over there. Alek and I are here, and Sansa and Renly are there.”

“More comfortable, huh?” Brienne narrowed her eyes at Margaery, who was looking at her innocently. “For who? I’m bigger than Alek.”

Margaery suggestively waggled her eyebrows at Brienne. “We’ll see about that.”

Brienne couldn’t help but burst out laughing, giving Margaery a gentle shove toward the tents. “You’re so gross.”

She turned around and came face to face with Tormund, who was standing with his arms full of firewood and a baffled look on his face. “Wow. They are _really_ not subtle, are they?” She stood next to him and watched her friends pull bags from the van and throw them in various tents. She sighed resignedly. “No, no they are not.”

He turned and looked at her pointedly. “I promised, remember. I swear I will keep my word.”

She realized then that it wasn’t him she was worried about.

 

* * *

 

After they got their tents set up, they gathered around the campfire for lunch and discussed the plans for the day.

“Since we only have the afternoon today, we could either do a canoe trip down the river or a hike to a really nice scenic overlook I know. If we want to split up, Alek can go with one group and I can go with the other.”

Everyone looked at Brienne expectantly. “Well, after sitting in the van this morning, I was really hoping to stretch my legs and get some exercise…”

“So, Renly, Margaery, Alek and I will go canoeing. Sounds great!” Sansa exclaimed in between bites of her hot dog.

Brienne shook her head and shot an apologetic glance at Tormund. “Hope you wanted to go hiking,” she said.

“I happen to love hiking,” he chuckled, finishing the pile of chips on his plate.

After everyone was done with lunch, Tormund and Brienne laced up their hiking boots while the others piled into the van to drive to the canoe launch spot. They walked to the trailhead, Tormund slightly ahead of Brienne, telling her how the Dragonstone Trail got its name from a cache of dragonglass spears and arrowheads supposedly found along it. As he continued to point out the local flora and fauna, she had to mentally admonish herself a few times for letting her eyes linger too long on his muscular legs, his broad back, his thick biceps.

“How did you break your nose?” she blurted out, needing something else to distract her besides talk of native trees.

He stopped, turned to her and gasped, hand over his heart as if he was appalled at the question. “What _ever_ would make you think I’ve broken my nose?” She laughed and punched him playfully before continuing to walk. “That obvious, huh?” he said, reaching up to rub his nose. “I was a bit of a scrapper as a kid. My dad took off right after I was born – guess five kids was one kid too many. My mom did her best, but she was always working, so I found a lot of trouble to get myself into. She got so fed up with me that she sent me to a quote-unquote ‘wilderness rehabilitation program’ in high school. I was so mad, and I wanted to hate it, but I ended up falling in love with the outdoors. I went back to high school, graduated, and became a guide right after.”

Brienne was slightly surprised at how much he’d just shared, but grateful to get a glimpse into a different side of him.

He glanced over at her. “What about you? You look like you’ve kicked an ass or two in your day.”

She chuckled. “I’ve kicked many an ass, in fact. I do MMA, and I also coach some kids at the gym I work out at.”

“Of COURSE you do MMA,” he exclaimed, hitting his forehead with the heel of his hand. “I knew you couldn’t have gotten that body from step aerobics.”

She ignored the compliment about her body, as well as the flush creeping into her cheeks, and continued. “I got bullied a lot as a kid, so my dad put me in karate really young. After I got my black belt, I moved on to MMA and never looked back. I don’t really do fights anymore, but I can still beat almost every guy in the gym. Bet I could beat you.” Her eyes twinkled as she shot him a mischievous look.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “It’s been a long time since I fought…but I might have to take that bet.”

The miles passed quickly as they continued talking. They shared more about their childhoods (Brienne talked a lot about her dad but didn’t mention her mom or brother), their friends, their favorite music, their plans for the future. She learned that Tormund’s ambition was to own his own tour company one day and run tours all over Westeros, not just in the North. Brienne told him of her goal of becoming a human rights lawyer, advocating for and protecting people who have suffered injustice.

When they weren’t talking, they fell into comfortable silence and took in the beauty of their surroundings. The hike really was beautiful – the path carved through the forest, along a flowing stream which opened into several small waterfalls, and over rocky ledges and natural bridges.

She followed Tormund as he turned off the main trail onto a smaller, less worn one. “We’re almost there,” he called and pointed in front of him. They walked a few steps through the forest before it opened up onto a rocky outcropping. Brienne sucked in her breath at the sight. Before her was a sea of the greenest trees she’d ever seen, small mountains in the distance obscured by haze, capped by a violently blue sky. Tormund smiled at her awestruck expression, then sat down on a small, flat rock toward the edge of the outcropping and patted the spot beside him.

The rock was barely big enough for two normal-sized people, so it was quite a squeeze for two as big as Brienne and Tormund. Their arms and shoulders pressed together as they sat, looking toward the horizon.

Brienne let out a huge sigh. “My brother would have loved this.”

Tormund regarded her in surprise. “You didn’t say you had a brother.”

“He died when I was 11. My mom too. Car accident.” She hadn’t talked about them in so long, but the words came rushing out. “Galladon was my hero. He protected me from the kids who picked on me until I was big enough to defend myself. He’s the reason I love the outdoors so much. We spent all our time hiking, fishing, collecting shells along the beach. Our mom used to call us wolf pups because we were so wild.” She smiled at the memory, even as a single tear fell down her cheek.

Tormund gently wiped it away with his thumb. “Thank you for sharing that with me. I’m sure your mom and brother would be proud of you.”

She turned her head toward him, and her hand, seemingly of its own volition, reached up to graze his cheek. She dropped it just as quickly and turned her attention back to the view. The sun was starting to lower, turning the sky from sapphire blue to a dusky orange. They sat there a moment longer, enjoying both the beautiful view and the feeling of their solid arms pressed together.

Brienne tried to hide her disappointment when he finally said, “We should probably get back before it gets too dark.” They stood up, dusted themselves off and made their way back to the trail.

On the hike back, Brienne told him more about her mom and brother. It actually felt really good to talk about them, and no more tears fell as she recounted stories of her childhood on Tarth. After what seemed like only a few minutes, they were back at the trailhead. Tormund stopped and said, “Well, here we are. Are you glad you didn’t choose canoeing?” That roguish grin again. He turned toward the entrance, but she grabbed his shoulder, spun him toward her, and pressed a kiss to his mouth.

This kiss was very different from the one at the bar – just a touch of lips together, chaste, no promise of anything more. She wasn’t even sure why she did it. Maybe the release of emotion from the past few hours got the best of her. When she pulled away, Tormund had a slightly puzzled but amused look on his face. “Not that I’m upset about it, but…what was that for?”

“I don’t really know. Just…thanks for letting me talk.”

“If that’s what happens when I let you talk, I will not say another word this entire trip and you can talk every hour of every day.”

A small smile played on her lips as she brushed past him and walked back toward the entrance.

 

* * *

 

When they returned to camp, Alek, Margaery, Sansa and Renly were already back and starting dinner around the roaring fire. Brienne collapsed into one of the camp chairs situated around it, beginning to feel the miles of the hike in her feet and legs.

“How was the hike?” asked Sansa, leaning toward Brienne expectantly.

“It was beautiful,” she sighed as she removed her boots and massaged her feet. “Definitely worth the blisters. How was the canoe trip?”

“SO fun. Renly leaned over to look at some fish in the water and fell out!” Sansa slapped her knees and cackled.

“The guy’s a strong swimmer, I’ll give him that much,” Alek piped in from the other side of the fire.

“Laugh it up, but if any of you assholes fall in I am NOT jumping in to save you!” They all dissolved into hysterics.

Tormund settled himself into the chair beside Brienne, following her lead and removing his boots to massage his feet.

After their dinner of foil-pack chicken and potatoes, followed by s’mores, they sat around the fire telling ghost stories and folk tales they remembered from childhood. Sansa and Renly were the first to retire to their tents for the night, followed by Margaery and Alek.

Brienne panicked for a second – she had momentarily forgotten that she had to share a tent with Tormund. She glanced over at him, watching the fire with a contented look on his face. He caught her eye, and she shot up from her chair, sputtering, “I’m going to get ready for bed. Good night.”

“Good night,” he called after her as she practically ran to the tent. She changed into her pajamas, brushed her teeth quickly with bottled water, and slipped into her sleeping bag. She heard Tormund moving around by the fire, probably putting it out for the night, and squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to fall asleep before he got into the tent. The exhaustion of the day helped her along, and by the time she heard him unzipping the front flap, she was drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, Brienne woke gently to a natural alarm clock of birds chirping and sun streaming into the tent. She was on her side, back against Tormund’s front, his hand resting lightly on her hip over her sleeping bag.

Still half-asleep, she arched her back slightly to press against him, thinking in her groggy haze about how good it would feel to take his hand and move it between her legs, to pull him closer and grind on his thigh. Her eyes flew open and she gasped _. I need to get out of this tent NOW._

She unzipped the sleeping bag and tent as quickly but as quietly as possible, not even bothering to put shoes on as she dashed into the woods. She spotted the biggest tree she could find and ran behind it, pressing her back to it before her shoving her hand down her shorts. How was she so wet and swollen already? She bit back a whimper as her finger slid up and down her wetness, stopping to rub circles around her clit.

She inserted one, then two fingers inside, rocking her hips as she slipped them in and out. Her thumb found the sensitive nub, flicking it in time to the thrusts of her digits. A familiar tingle began to form at the base of her spine, urging her on. She squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath as she came, her inner walls fluttering around her fingers. A mild spasm, a wave of tension breaking, and then it was over. Not the most mind-blowing orgasm, but it would do.

She removed her hand from her shorts and leaned against the tree, feeling the rough bark on the back of her head, steadying her breath before walking back. 

When she got back to the campsite, Tormund was up, stoking the fire and getting breakfast supplies out of the cooler.

“Good morning.” He looked quizzically down at her bare feet. “Had to go that bad, huh?”

Her cheeks blazed. “Something like that.” She stood there for a moment, eyes devouring his form in his white tank top and gray sweatpants, before turning back toward the tent.

Oh, she was in trouble.


	5. Mount Catelyn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like slow burns because this is gonna be slooooowwwww. It'll be worth it though, I promise ;)

Brienne succeeded in avoiding eye contact with Tormund for the rest of the morning while they got ready for the day’s activity: climbing Mount Catelyn. It was a relatively easy climb to the summit of the mountain, but they still had to get moving early to make it up and down before sunset. They ate a quick breakfast, filled their day packs with water and snacks, laced up their boots and drove to the trailhead.

The first half of the climb was just switchbacks through the dense forest, so the group was able to talk and banter without getting too out of breath. Tormund told some of his more outlandish stories, arms gesticulating wildly, voice carrying through the trees, which made Brienne think of the first time she saw him at the bar. She flushed at the memory, then shook her head and pronounced, “I refuse to believe you jumped in front of a bear to save your cooler of beer.”

“I did! Still have the scar to prove it.” He patted his chest. “If you’re lucky, you might get to see it.” He leered comically at her, provoking a snicker and a backhanded slap to his stomach.

As they crossed the tree line, the route became steeper and they quieted to focus on the climb. There were sections where they had to scramble on their hands and feet over loose scree, and sections where the path seemed to go straight up.

Brienne never felt more alive than when her heart pounded, blood rushed through her extremities, and muscles throbbed with use. She was so focused on her goal of getting to the top that she scarcely noticed she and Tormund had moved quite far ahead of the rest of the group. The summit appeared just above.

She looked over at him and felt her competitive spirit flaring to life. “I’ll race you to the summit,” she called while already moving past him, long legs pumping. He grinned and picked up his pace, breath becoming ragged as he closed the gap between them. He reached for her shirt and grabbed a fistful of it, using it to both pull her back and propel himself forward.

“CHEATER!” she cried and accelerated, ignoring the pain in her thighs and burning in her lungs. When presented with the option of winning or losing, she would do whatever it took to win. Brienne used her longer legs to her advantage and broadened her stride, eyes wild and focused on the peak above. She saw Tormund gaping at her as she blew past him. She didn’t even realize she’d reached the summit until she suddenly felt her steps ease and found herself on flat ground.

She looked around her and sucked in a breath. The view was indescribable – it was like the lookout from the hike yesterday turned up to 11. Intensely green trees, turquoise-blue lakes, hills and snow-capped mountains as far as the eye could see, all around her. She thought she could even see the ocean in the far distance. A soft breeze was blowing, cooling her sweaty brow and face flushed from exertion. She closed her eyes and let it wash over her, inhaling the clean mountain air.

She didn’t notice Tormund come up beside her until he spoke, interrupting her meditation. “Something tells me you don’t like to lose,” he panted, hands on his knees. “We didn’t discuss a prize for the winner. What do you want?”

He stood up straight and she noticed how his shirt clung to his body, damp with sweat, revealing his bulky form. His chest heaved and eyes glowed with exhilaration. It was an innocent question, but her first thought was not so innocent. She was glad her face was already red from the climb. “I’ll have to think about it,” she said as she turned away from him and regarded the rest of the group, gasping their way up to the summit.

“Thanks for waiting for us!” Sansa huffed, with Renly and Margaery on her heels. Alek, looking like he was on a casual stroll around the block, brought up the rear. Sansa’s frustration dissipated immediately when she stopped and looked around her. Brienne watched her friends stare in wonder at the view, grateful that they had agreed with her suggestion of coming North. Some beach in Dorne would have never given them this experience.

She walked up to them and stood between Margaery and Renly, arms around their waists. Sansa joined on the other side and they stood there looking into the distance for a long time, Brienne’s heart swelling. “Aren’t you glad we came?” she asked, and Renly and Margaery both smiled and laid their heads on her shoulders. She’d take that as a yes.

Tormund came up behind them and said softly, “This really is heartwarming, but we need to get back down before the sun sets.” They extricated themselves from each other and started down the mountain.

By the time they got back to camp, they were so exhausted that they just shoved some beef jerky and trail mix into their mouths for dinner before collapsing in their tents. Brienne wasn’t even concerned about getting into bed at the same time as Tormund, barely even noticed his breath against the back of her neck as she fell into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning, she was relieved to open her eyes and find that Tormund was already up. She stretched, finding that her legs and hips ached from the exertion yesterday, and hoped that some relaxation was on the agenda today. 

“Sleep well?” Tormund asked as she emerged from the tent. “Like a rock,” she responded, lunging and stretching to try to ease the pain in her thighs.

“Our activity today should help with that,” he pointed toward her legs. “The Baths. Natural hot springs. After a long soak, you’ll be good as new.” 

She sighed at the thought. “Oh, that sounds amazing.”

After breakfast, they tore down their campsite and packed up the van. They would stop at The Baths on their way north to the glacier, which locals called The Wall. Brienne was not excited about the colder temperatures, but she was very much looking forward to seeing the glacier. Legend had it that it was the remnants of a magic ice wall constructed long ago to keep out supernatural threats. Brienne wasn’t sure about all that, but from the pictures she’d seen, it did look pretty magical.

They drove for an hour and a half before reaching The Baths. “The official scientific explanation is that the water is heated and pushed upward by the earth’s core,” Tormund explained, “but I prefer to believe that the dragon sleeping under our feet heats it with his fire breath.” He winked at Brienne, who pressed her lips into a smile while shaking her head.

Tormund pulled off the main road and drove down a smaller dirt one until they saw a run-down sign for The Baths. They piled out of the van and walked down the path, observing the steam in the air. Over a small ridge, they encountered what looked like an alien landscape – jagged gray rocks covered in bright green moss were interspersed with pale blue, steaming pools of various sizes and depths. The land rolled gently upward in each direction, making it feel as though this was the only place in the world that existed.

“Oh my god, it’s beautiful!” exclaimed Margaery, shedding her clothes while running toward the biggest of the pools. Brienne was glad they’d decided to wear their bathing suits under their clothes to save time. She laughed and began taking her shirt off, revealing her new navy-blue bikini. Sansa had cajoled her into buying it, insisting that she couldn’t wear her normal “mom-ish” one-pieces now that she was single. It showed more skin than anything she’d worn before, but she had to admit it was flattering.

She caught Tormund staring as she stepped out of her pants, sending fire through her cheeks. He pulled his shirt over his head, exposing his broad, muscled torso, covered in freckles and coarse red hair. She did notice a scar on his chest, but still wasn’t convinced of the bear story.

His shoulders and arms rippled with muscle, but he wasn’t one of those meathead bodybuilder types; you could tell his muscles came from swinging an axe, carrying heavy equipment through the forest and climbing mountains instead of spending hours in the gym. His body was intensely masculine and almost made Brienne feel dainty in comparison, even though they were the same height.

This time she was the one caught staring. Tormund raised his eyebrows once, almost imperceptibly, before turning away from her and making his way to the pools. She took a deep breath to steady herself before following.

Brienne stepped into the largest pool, in which Margaery, Sansa and Renly were already lounging. Alek and Tormund were splashing and wrestling like adolescents in another, smaller one. She nearly melted when the hot water enveloped her, and she leaned her head back on the edge of the pool, closed her eyes, and sighed heavily.

“So…” Margaery leaned toward her conspiratorially. “Spill it.”

Brienne opened one eye and looked warily over at her friend. “Spill what?”

“You and Tormund! What’s been happening between you two?”

“Nothing has been happening.”

Sansa looked incredulous. “What?! A solo hike and two nights of sharing a tent, and NOTHING has happened?”

“Exactly – I’ve known him for three days. You know me better than that.”

“Well remind me not to tell you what Alek and I have been up to…” Margaery muttered.

“No judgement here…but I would really rather not know.” Brienne playfully splashed Margaery.

She leaned her head back on the pool and closed her eyes again. “We did kiss though,” she offered nonchalantly. 

Her friends hooted and hollered, which made her turn beet red and dissolve into giggles like a schoolgirl.

“I’m so proud of our Brienne,” Renly said as he clasped his hands and propped his chin on them. “But seriously, you don’t have to marry the guy. We just want you to have fun and be happy.”

“Well, I AM having fun and I AM happy. But thank you,” she replied sincerely before splashing him in the face.

“Speak of the devil,” Margaery whispered as Tormund slipped into the pool.

He was ruddy-cheeked from his wrestling match with Alek, damp hair falling into his eyes. He submerged himself then stood up in the middle of the pool, water up to his waist, looking like something out of a goddamn cologne commercial. The nerve.

Renly’s words echoed in her head, flipping a switch somewhere. _You don’t have to marry the guy. Just have fun._  

It dawned on her then that she was so reluctant to give into her feelings for Tormund because she’d never experienced a casual romantic or sexual relationship. Her first encounter with both had been intense, deep, full of angst and heartache. Sure, it had its positive aspects, but she’d never really just had FUN with someone, no strings attached.

Gathering up all her courage, she climbed out of the pool and announced, “Tormund, didn’t you say there was a cold pool around here? I’m feeling flushed.”

“Yeah, it’s just around that ridge over there…” He motioned with his arm until he noticed her staring at him impatiently. A look of comprehension came over his face as he splashed quickly out of the pool. “Oh, right. This way.”

She shot Renly a wink as they walked away, prompting an exaggerated gasp followed by a proud smile.

The cold pool was set back a ways from the hot pools, down a hill and secluded behind a tall rocky ridge. A small waterfall fell from the ridge into the basin. Brienne walked around it and dipped her toe in it – it was significantly cooler than the hot water, not exactly cold, but brisk and refreshing. She stepped in, sucking in a breath as the cool water washed over her. Painfully aware that Tormund was devouring her with his eyes, she sat down on the ledge of rock that served as a seat and looked up at him. “I want my prize,” she said impishly.

“And what would that be?” he cocked his head at her, standing on the edge of the pool with his arms crossed.

“A massage.” She stretched one of her legs out in front of her. “The hot water helped, but I’m still sore.” 

His eyes glinted as they locked on the long appendage under the water. “Well, since you asked…” 

Tormund stepped in and kneeled in front of her, taking one leg in his calloused hands. As soon as he began working the heel of his hand up and down her thigh with long strokes, Brienne’s eyes closed and head fell back involuntarily. His touch felt so good – firm, yet gentle, pressing languorously into her achy muscles.

He glided his hand up and down the front of her thigh, stopping periodically to knead her muscle with his knuckles. She hoped he didn’t notice the shudder that passed through her when his fingers grazed her bathing suit line ever so softly. 

By the time he moved down to her calf, she was practically liquid. No matter how hard she tried to keep them in, heavy sighs escaped from her lips from time to time. She tried to ignore the thrum of blood between her thighs that only intensified with every touch. His strong hands manipulated her calf muscle from the back of her knee down to her ankle. 

He squeezed a spot just behind her ankle bone, which sent a spark through her and elicited a whimper that surprised both of them. He froze, sucked in a breath, then began again. His hands moved to her feet, kneading the bottoms with his thumbs, fingers stretching between her toes. He dropped her foot and moved to the other side, the few seconds in between some of the longest of Brienne’s life. 

When Tormund lifted her other leg and began working on her thigh, she opened her eyes and looked at him for the first time since he’d begun. She saw on his face the same look he’d given her at the bar – as if he might eat her alive at any moment. His eyes were dark, breath irregular, mouth half open. A tingle shot through her body, warmth pooling between her legs despite the chilly water.

The look unraveled the last tiny thread of control she’d been holding onto. Her breath hitched in her throat and heart pounded like a drum. He looked confused as she withdrew her leg, which turned to astonishment when she grabbed his hand and pressed it to her sensitive mound. “My prize,” she breathed. 

“Brienne,” he purred as he moved closer to her and settled himself between her legs. “You continue to surprise me.” He began stroking her with an excruciatingly light touch over her bathing suit. His fingers traced the seam of her swimsuit, his touch sending fire through her blood. She inhaled sharply at the same time that he leaned forward to capture her mouth in a hungry kiss.

His tongue parted her lips and delved into her mouth. The tingle between her legs was now a full-blown ache. She grabbed the back of his head and tangled her hands in his hair. The scratch of his beard contrasted deliciously with the smoothness of his lips.

He continued stroking her up and down while the other hand played lazily with the tie at the side of her bottoms, fingertips lightly brushing her hip bone. He gave the tie one firm tug, then moved to the other side. The sensation of the cold water on her naked body only furthered her arousal. She bit down on his lower lip and dragged her teeth along it, the growl emanating from him sending another wave of heat down her spine. 

Tormund pulled her swimsuit bottom out from under her and tossed it aside. She widened her legs for him, wondering briefly at how her inhibitions had crumbled so completely that she was perfectly okay with being splayed out half naked in the open like this. The thought quickly vanished when his hand brushed against the hair on her mound. She moaned and leaned back, praying for a firmer touch to ease the ache building up inside her.

Tormund placed two fingers at the top of her folds and slid them down slowly, parting her lips and sending a shudder through her body. Her head flew back, and he leaned forward to nip at her exposed neck. 

When his finger found her sensitive nub, her hips bucked involuntarily. He stilled and made her look into his eyes while placing his other hand firmly on her hip bone, holding her down. “Don’t run away from me,” he ordered lustily, the command in his voice sending shockwaves to the place his fingers connected with her body. 

Being at his mercy like this turned her on in ways she never thought possible. Her whole body tingled and sparked, her lower belly clenched, her nipples hardened on their own accord.

Tormund mercifully began moving his finger again, in slow circles around her clit, up and down her swollen folds. Just when she thought she might actually die from the tension, he inserted one finger, then another inside her.

Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the rocks under her. The sensation of him filling her with his fingers, thumb resting on her clit, was almost too much to bear. A sound escaped her, somewhere between a whimper and a moan, and he let out a ragged breath against her neck.

His fingers were sunk in her, not moving, when he whispered in her ear, “You need to ask me, remember?” She heard the mischief in his voice even over the audible tremble. 

“Tormund, please,” she begged, not enough blood in her brain to form words beyond these.

Of course, he wasn’t going to let her off that easy. “Please, what?” He nipped at her earlobe.

“Please, MOVE.” She gripped his hand, hard, pushing him deeper. This time she was the one doing the commanding.

Satisfied, Tormund began sliding his fingers in and out, slowly at first, teasing circles around her clit with his thumb. His other hand rested on her upper thigh, periodically squeezing with a firm but not painful pressure. His cheek was still pressed against hers, mouth close to her ear, and she grabbed his chin and pushed his head back so she could see his eyes.

They locked intense gazes while he thrust in and out and she rocked against him. Her heart raced wildly and breath came in short, irregular gasps. Pleasure raced up and down her spine, her inner walls clenched around his fingers, she tingled from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. 

Just when she thought her ecstasy could not intensify, he crooked his fingers inside her in a come-hither motion. Combined with the steady rhythm of his thrusts and sustained attention to her clit, the dam that had been holding back the tension broke in one violent burst. She cried out, much louder than she wanted to, then dug her fingernails into Tormund’s biceps and bit down on his shoulder to stifle any more sounds.

Wave after wave of pleasure broke across her body as she convulsed and fluttered around his fingers. She saw stars behind her squeezed-shut eyelids. “Fuck, Brienne,” she heard him pant into her ear, muffled as if he was speaking to her underwater. Her head flew back and body arched to press into his. Hips slowing, she drew a gasping breath and opened her eyes as the waves retreated, then slumped limply onto his shoulder.

Tormund held her there for a moment before removing his fingers, eliciting another shudder. She wrapped her arms high around his back while her breath returned to normal and heart stopped pounding. His arms gently enfolded her waist in a curiously intimate gesture, and he buried his face in her neck, the prickle of his beard provoking a surprised giggle from her.

Brienne pulled back to look at him through hooded eyelids. “Wow,” was the only word that she could muster.

A smug smile spread over his face. “A worthy prize?”

“I think you worked harder on the prize than I did in the race,” she said as she pushed his sweaty hair back from his eyes.

She glanced down and noticed his cock straining against his shorts in a way that looked almost painful. “Do you want me to…” She reached one hand out tentatively, but he grabbed it and wrapped it back around his shoulder. “I’ll be fine in a few minutes. This was your prize, remember?” That sly smile again.

She remembered all at once that they were out in the open and that she was currently naked from the waist down. She reluctantly pulled away from him, grabbed her bottoms and tied them back up. “We should probably get back to the group…”

He nodded, then looked down at his lap. “I’ll need another minute…but you go ahead. You standing in front of me in that bikini is not helping matters.”

She was surprised that an innocuous comment from a man who’d just had his fingers inside her could make her blush, but there it was. She smirked and turned to walk back to the hot springs.

Margaery and Alek apparently had the same thought as Brienne and Tormund, because they were nowhere to be found when she returned to the largest pool. Sansa and Renly looked up at her expectantly as she slipped back into the hot water. Pins and needles pricked along her sensitive skin from the heat, but it did feel divine after her time in the cold pool.

She shrugged her shoulders and said innocently, “What? I was hot.” They burst out laughing just as the other three members of their group returned. Tormund, back to business again, announced that they would have to leave in the next few minutes to get their next campsite set up by nightfall. 

They dried off and used the small bathhouse to change into warm clothes for the remainder of the drive to the glacier. Brienne climbed into the van next to Tormund, who shot her a smile before turning his eyes to the road. She was still so relaxed from the activities of the hot springs that she slipped under into sleep almost immediately, only rousing when Tormund shook her awake at their destination.

It really was much colder here, and they set up camp quickly, eager to get into their warm sleeping bags. Brienne climbed into their tent first, conflicting thoughts swirling in her head.

_I barely know him._

_That was one of the best orgasms of my life._

_He’s only the second man I’ve known in that way._

_I want more._

_After these two weeks, I’ll probably never see him again._

_I wonder what he’d feel like inside me._

She blushed scarlet at the thought as he climbed into the tent. They locked eyes and he gave her a perplexed look. “I thought you’d be pretending to be asleep again.”

“I haven’t been pretending to be asleep,” she argued unconvincingly. After the hot springs today, he obviously knew of the effect he had on her, but for some reason she felt she owed him an explanation for her indecisiveness.

She sighed a deep sigh. “It’s just that…I’ve only ever been with one other man, _like that_. It was a really serious relationship and it just ended six months ago. Things are still pretty raw. So, if I want to take this…whatever _this_ is…slow, I hope you understand.”

He held his hand up to his face and studied it. “Wow, so this is only the second hand to have plundered your depths.” 

“Ew!” she shrieked and slapped his hand. They both laughed, but Tormund got serious before continuing.

“Brienne, you’ve known what you do to me since the first time I saw you, but I never want you to feel like you have to do anything you aren’t ready to. And trust me, I don’t want it if I don’t have to work for it. That’s why I was so intrigued by you at the bar. You looked like you could kill me if you wanted to…and I liked that.” The gravelly tone of his voice made her lower belly clench, but then he planted the softest of kisses on her forehead, barely a brush of lips. She shivered, but even she wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or the kiss. “I’m not just saying this to get closer to you, but it really will be warmer if we snuggle.”

She chuckled and scooted closer to him. She tucked her head under his chin, an unusual feeling given her height, but she enjoyed the safety of it. “Good night, Tormund,” she whispered into his neck before floating off into sleep.


	6. Bear vs. Bear

The next morning, Brienne woke up in the same position she’d fallen asleep in – curled up against Tormund’s warmth, head tucked under his chin. Her eyelids fluttered open and she stretched her body to its full length, unintentionally pressing completely against Tormund. She felt his body tense and looked up at him. His eyes were squeezed shut, breath labored, and his face was scrunched into what looked like a painful grimace. “Are you okay?” she asked, concerned.

“Yeah. It’s just…I’m trying to respect your wishes of taking this slow but you pressing against me like that is making it very difficult.”

“Sorry…” she blushed and quickly rolled onto her back.

“Don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault you can be sexy even when wrapped up like a mummy in a sleeping bag.”

She chuckled and blushed even redder, looking away from him. She didn’t know if she would ever get used to the way he talked about her, the compliments he heaped on her, the way he made her feel so… _desired_. She didn’t dislike it – on the contrary – but it was just so new. Jaime’s attraction to her had developed over many months, and she knew he had not found her even slightly attractive until he got to know her and saw what was inside.

But Tormund…he wanted her from the first time he laid eyes on her, and that feeling had awoken something inside her she didn’t think she possessed. His rugged, manly good looks and sparkling eyes certainly helped. Different from Jaime in so many ways.

She realized this was one of the first times she’d thought of Jaime since arriving in the North, compared to nearly every minute of every day before that. Far removed from King’s Landing, from the places that reminded her of him, from the fear that she might run into him and not know what to say – it made her feel more _herself_ than she had in a long time. She just hoped she would be able to carry some of this newfound confidence back home.

Brienne turned her head to look at Tormund, who seemed to have fallen back asleep. His lips were slightly parted and his breathing was deep and steady. She stifled the urge to run her thumb over his bottom lip, instead slipping out of her sleeping bag, into her coat and boots, and out of the tent.

She was, surprisingly, the first one awake, so she thought she’d make herself useful and start on breakfast. She walked the several feet to where the canister containing their food was hanging from a tree.

She untied the rope and began lowering the canister when she heard a sound behind her. Her pulse quickened, but when she turned around, she saw nothing but the still woods. She calmed herself and went back to her task. The canister had just touched the ground when she heard a louder commotion accompanied by low grunts and snuffles.

She instinctually knew what was behind her.

_Bear._

She dropped the rope and froze. Her heart pounded and breath stuck in her throat.

Although Tarth was not exactly overrun with bears, her father had still taught her what to do if she did come across one. She should never run from a bear; instead, she should hold her ground, stand up tall and raise her hands in the air to make herself as large as possible, and make loud noises to hopefully scare it off. She knew it was more likely to claw her to death than run away, but standing here with her back to it wasn’t any better.

She took one deep breath to steady herself before turning around, hoping that at least coming face to face with the bear would make her death a little more noble. But just before she turned, she saw a red-topped blur moving past her, growling.

She whipped around just as Tormund planted himself between her and the bear, arms up, a primal sound ripping from his chest, carrying through the forest. The black bear, which was thankfully not fully-grown, reared up on its hind legs, emitted half a growl, then lowered back onto all fours and turned to lumber away. Tormund was still making the noise, more of an enraged roar than anything, until the bear disappeared into the woods.

Brienne looked at Tormund, frozen with his hands in the air, body coiled tightly like a spring. After a moment, his arms fell to his sides and shoulders slumped, a deep breath releasing from his chest. He turned and ran toward her, gathering her in his arms.

“Are you okay?” She felt his heart pounding in his chest, in time with her own. Her relief at being out of the situation quickly turned to anger that Tormund would put himself in danger like that, for _her_. Rage bubbled up in her as she brought her hands up to his chest and pushed him away firmly.

“Are you crazy?! Why would you do that? You could have gotten yourself killed!” Her voice shook and hands clenched into fists so hard that her fingernails dug painfully into her palms.

Tormund looked hurt and incredulous. “What, I’m just supposed to stand here and let you get attacked by a bear?”

“I could have handled it,” she said, a bit quieter, doubt creeping into her voice. 

He took a step toward her. “Brienne, I know you’re used to protecting yourself…but if anything happened to you on my watch…” He didn’t finish the thought, just shook his head. 

“What if something happened to _you_ , because of _me_? Your stupid pride won’t do you any good if you’re bleeding out on the forest floor.” 

“You think this is about pride? No.” He took another step, closing the distance between them. His mouth opened as if he was about to say something else, but it closed just as quickly. 

He raised his hand to her cheek, and she didn’t have it in her to pull away. 

“Besides, that little runt of a bear couldn’t have given me more than a scratch,” he said, puffing out his chest. 

She laughed, despite the tension still unfurling inside her, and wrapped her arms around his lower back, pulling him close. “I’m sorry for yelling at you,” she said into his neck. “Thank you for protecting me. Just don’t do anything that stupid again.” 

She felt him smile against the side of her face. “I’ve been doing stupid stuff my whole life. I’m not about to stop now.” 

They stood there for a moment while their hearts and breath returned to normal. As they turned to walk back to camp, he announced, “Well, at least now I won’t be lying when I tell people I’ve jumped in front of a bear.”

“I KNEW that wasn’t true!” Brienne exclaimed, punching him in the shoulder.

As soon as they got back to camp, after he’d asked Brienne if she was okay no less than twelve times, Tormund started boisterously relating the story of the bear to the others. He of course exaggerating some key details, like the size of the bear and the fact that it had not actually taken a swipe at him. Brienne rolled her eyes but couldn’t suppress the smile that spread across her face.

Margaery dashed over to Brienne and threw her arms around her. “Oh my god, are you okay? How terrifying!” Not one second after she assured them she was, in fact, fine, Sansa pulled them away and whispered, “Holy shit, Bri. He jumped in front of a _bear_ for you. He’s in love with you!”

Brienne scoffed. “He is not. He’s known me a week. He just didn’t want a death on his employment record.”

Margaery looked at her dubiously. “It’s not just that. Have you seen the way he looks at you, how he hangs on your every word like you’re the most interesting person on the face of the earth? He’s got it _bad_.” 

Brienne blushed crimson. “You’re reading way too much into this,” she admonished before returning to help pack supplies.

As they packed up for their trip to the glacier, Tormund kept asking if she was _sure_ she wanted to go, if she would be more comfortable just staying at camp for the day with him, if he could get her some hot tea or a blanket. Finally, she snapped at him. “Tormund! You’re the one who faced down a bear, not me! I should be asking you if _you’re_ okay!”

“I’m _not_ okay!” he practically roared, making the other residents of their campsite stop in their tracks and look toward him.

He quieted and slumped his shoulders. “Sorry. It’s just…when I saw you in the woods with that look of pure terror on your face, it was the worst feeling I’ve ever felt. Like my heart and my stomach were going to fall out of my body. I keep imagining all the things that could have gone wrong. My hands won’t stop shaking. So, I guess I’m projecting." 

“Tormund…I had no idea. You were laughing and joking right after…”

“Defense mechanism,” he said with a weak smile.

She took his hands, which really were shaking, and looked at him seriously. “How can I help?”

“Stay away from bears.” That unconvincing smile again.

“Tormund,” she chided. “Do you want me to stay here with you today? As long as Alek can take the others, I don’t mind staying.”

He shook his head. “You don’t have to miss out on the glacier just for me.”

“You saved me. I owe you. Besides, the glacier sounds…cold.” They chuckled and turned back toward the group. Brienne told them she was still shaken up and wanted to relax at camp for the day. Tormund hadn’t asked her to, but she knew he wouldn’t want them to know just how upset he was. He looked at her with a silent thanks before going to review the map with Alek.

“Thought you said you were fine,” Margaery said, eyes narrowed.

“I am. Just not really feeling up to a big adventure today.”

“Whatever you say,” she replied skeptically. “Just use protection, okay?”

“ _Margaery_.” Her cheeks blazed, but she couldn’t help laughing. “Have fun, take lots of pictures to show me when you get back.”

She and Tormund watched the van drive off. “They’ll be gone four or five hours,” Tormund commented.

“What should we do?” Brienne asked, hoping for an answer that didn’t contain a sexual innuendo.

“Sitting by the fire and relaxing for a bit sounds great to me.”

She smiled and walked to the fire, collapsing into one of the chairs arranged around it. She didn’t realize how tightly wound she’d been until she sat down. They watched the fire for a while, slipping between comfortable silence and chatting about insignificant things. But something had been nagging at the back of her mind since last night, and she gathered up the courage to ask him.

“So, about what I told you last night. My ex and all that. Now that you know my sexual history, do I get to know yours?”

He turned to her and raised his eyebrows, then chuckled. “You really don’t beat around the bush, do you? …No pun intended.” She groaned at his bad joke before he continued.

“Remember when I said I found a lot of trouble to get into as a kid? That was one of the types of trouble. I hung out with older kids and got a lot of my ‘education’ that way. I was really dumb and careless. When I was 16, I got a girl pregnant.”

Brienne’s breath caught in her throat. _OH MY GOD HE HAS A KID OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD._

He held up his hands as to arrest that very thought. “She ended up losing it, but it scared me straight for a long time. There have been a few girls here and there, but nothing serious. I don’t know an exact number, if that’s what you’re looking for.”

Brienne cocked her head at him. “Yes, you do.”

“Okay, yes, I do. Six. Not the outrageously high number you were expecting, is it?”

“I wasn’t expecting anything. Just curious.”

“Well, don’t go around telling everyone and ruining my debauched reputation with the truth.”

She held up her right hand. “Your secret is safe with me.”

They laughed and went back to staring at the fire. He told her a little more about his family, his three sisters and his mom. They sounded like a tough and fascinating bunch of women.

After about two hours, Tormund held up his hand to demonstrate that it was not shaking anymore. “I think my nerves are completely settled now. How about yours?”

 “I’m good too. I have an idea of what we could do…” She flashed him a smirk and got up from her chair, taking his hand and pulling him out of his.

She heard a small sound of disappointment when she led him to a large clearing instead of into their tent. “I think you’ll enjoy this,” she said as she dropped his hand and turned to face him.

She staggered her feet and brought her fists up in front of her face. “Let’s spar.”


	7. Predator and Prey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brienne and Tormund spar. Things turn ~sexy~

Brienne remained in her fighting stance while Tormund looked at her with amusement.

“Come on, I haven’t sparred in over a week. Didn’t you say you used to be a fighter?” She swayed back and forth, taunting, provoking.

He crossed his arms and shook his head. “I told you I was a _scrapper_. Not a fighter. I’m not trained like you.”  
  
“So you’re afraid you’re going to get beat by a girl?” She lunged forward and landed a punch to his breastbone. He let out an _oof_ and took a step backwards. His face flashed surprise, then a mirthful determination as he got into his own fighting stance. 

“Okay, you really want to do this. Any rules?” 

“No hits above the neck. I’d hate to mess up that pretty face of yours.” Brienne smirked. 

She lunged at him again, fist making contact with his ribs, causing him to crumple to one side. She used the opportunity to try to kick him in the other side with her opposite foot. He caught it and pulled, sweeping her grounding leg out from underneath her. 

The air was momentarily knocked out of her as she landed with a thud on her back. She twisted her leg free of his grip and rolled over her shoulder back on to her feet. Tormund’s eyes were glinting, cheeks flushed, ready for her next offensive. 

She ran toward him and wrapped her arms low around his waist, using her strong thighs for leverage as she lifted his feet off the ground in an attempt to body slam him. He shifted his weight and managed to get one foot on the ground, foiling her plan. He tried to loop his arms under hers, but she wiggled out of his grasp and broke free, shoving his chest hard to create space between them. 

This time, he came at her, thrusting his shoulder into her chest, wrapping his arms around her. She felt her feet leave the ground, but hung on tight to his shoulders and pulled down with all her weight. Her back hit the ground, and the air squeezed out of her lungs when he crashed down on top of her. She rolled as hard as she could to get out from under him, then clambered back to her feet. 

They continued like this for a while, Tormund relying on his (admittedly superior) strength, Brienne on her finely-honed technique and speed. They circled around each other like predator and prey, positions changing from minute to minute. They had both stripped off their coats and were sweating and panting, an animalistic quality in their eyes. 

She flew at him, wrapping her hands around his neck and bringing her knee up to his chest. She wasn’t quick enough to withdraw it, though, and he caught it and slammed her to the ground, quickly straddling her so she couldn’t get away. She unleashed a torrent of punches to his chest and stomach before he caught her wrists and pinned them above her head. 

“What are you gonna do now?” he growled. She squirmed beneath him, arching her back and thrusting her hips up in an attempt to throw off his balance but not finding much success. When she moved under him, she saw lust flicker in his eyes, which gave her an idea. She stilled, fixed him with a lecherous gaze and bit her bottom lip, dragging it slowly between her teeth. She rolled her hips slightly and let out an audible breath. 

Tormund’s eyes darkened and breathing became ragged. He let go of her wrists and placed his hands on either side of her face, lowering his mouth to just above hers. She brought her hands up to his chest, and just as he brushed his lips against hers, she shoved hard and bucked her hips up as forcefully as she could, throwing him off to the side. She clambered on top of him, sitting on his chest and pinning his biceps down with her knees. “What are YOU gonna do?” she smirked. 

“I didn’t take you as one to fight dirty. And that was as dirty as it gets.” He shook his head, but didn’t make any moves to get up. 

She moved back to release his arms and felt something hard under her as she sat back on his hips. She looked down, then back up at his face. He shrugged and said, “I told you, a challenge turns me on.” 

Brienne couldn’t pretend she wasn’t highly aroused as well – the combination of close physical contact, exertion, and a hint of danger made her blood rise like nothing else. And having this wild man underneath her, feeling his cock twitch with excitement, knowing _she_ did it…it made her throb with need. She placed her hands on his chest and squeezed her thighs around him, rocking slightly. 

“Brienne,” he growled, an edge of caution in his voice. “You won. No need for any more tricks.” 

“This isn’t a trick.” She squeezed again. “Do you want me to stop?” 

His eyes were dark and wild. “No. Don’t stop.” His hands moved up and down her thighs. 

She started moving more steadily, and he gripped her hips so hard she was sure to have bruises the next day. He let out a moan that heightened the feeling between her legs. She rubbed herself on him again, harder this time, desperate for friction, for release. 

He began moving his hips, slowly at first, then more powerfully. Her hands dug into his chest as the tension built inside her. Even with layers of clothing between them, she could imagine how good it would feel to have his cock moving in her. Her body tingled all over, blood aflame. She continued riding him as he thrust against her, the throbbing at the juncture of her thighs intensifying. 

She felt the pressure begin to build inside her, heart rate increasing, breath growing irregular. She sped up her movements and looked down at Tormund, whose eyes were squeezed shut and mouth was half open. She knew she was close and guessed he was too, so she lengthened her strokes against him and voiced her pleasure a little louder. 

He gasped and dug his fingertips into her hips even harder, the twinge of pain just what she needed to fling her off the edge. Tremors emanated from between her thighs and spread through her body. A cry flew from her throat just as Tormund’s movements became more erratic and fervent. She rode out the aftershocks to help Tormund find his release.

She felt him pulsate underneath her, then a warm wetness spread over his lap. He uttered a loud, low moan, then finally released his grip on her hips. His hands fell to the ground as he took a deep breath and relaxed. He opened his eyes and saw her looking down at him through hooded eyelids, a soft smile on her face. 

“That…was definitely the best fight I’ve ever had.” 

She chuckled and rolled off of him, then laid down next to him on the grass. He swung his arm around her and pulled her close. She felt slightly embarrassed that they’d just gotten each other off while fully clothed in a clearing in the woods, but then she remembered how good it had felt and the embarrassment quickly dissipated. Tormund made her feel like a horny teenager again. Not that she’d ever gotten up to any of these activities as a teenager, but now she thought she would have if given the option. 

The sounds of the woods – the birds chirping, insects buzzing, wind blowing gently, not to mention the relaxation resulting from another amazing orgasm – almost lulled her into sleep. She groaned when he began to make moves to get up. “Sorry, but I need to change or else I’ll never be able to get this underwear off again, which would be devastating. Especially for you.” 

Brienne laughed and got to her feet, sweeping dirt and grass off her pants. They grabbed their coats and walked back to the campsite. The fire, which had almost gone out while they were sparring, came roaring back to life as soon as she threw a few more logs on it. She collapsed into one of the camp chairs while Tormund cleaned up. One of the few times in life that being a woman was easier.

Her thoughts got lost in the fire until Tormund sat down next to her. She looked over at him and smiled, which he reciprocated. He turned back to the fire, but she kept looking at the side of his face. She noticed something new every time she looked at him – this time, she observed that his eyelashes were about a shade darker than his hair and a length that most women spent a lot of money to achieve. She’d forgotten how much fun it was to really get to know someone for the first time. 

Her musings were interrupted by the sound of a car engine approaching, signaling the rest of their group returning from the glacier. Brienne and Tormund got up to greet them as they all piled out of the van, groaning and stretching their sore legs. “How was it?” Brienne inquired, taking Renly’s phone out of his hand to scroll through the pictures. They’d made a no-phones agreement before the trip, with the exception of taking photos, to eliminate distractions and make the most of their time together. Not that there was any service this far north. 

The photos did look beautiful – a white expanse of snow and ice with rivulets of blue and gray snaking through. There were ice caves and huge crevasses, big enough for a person to get lost in. She felt a twinge of regret for missing it, but then she remembered the genuine worry on Tormund’s face and was glad she could help put him more at ease. If he wasn’t at ease before their spar…he certainly was now. 

She listened to Margaery, Sansa and Renly excitedly rehash the details of their glacier walk, overcome with appreciation for their open-mindedness and understanding. She really was lucky to have them. 

Just a few minutes after they had all settled around the campfire, Tormund came over with a concerned look on his face. “I just checked the sat phone and got a weather alert – looks like a strong storm is coming through tonight. Storms can get pretty bad this far north, so we have two options. We can either drive the three hours south to our next camp location, or we can drive 30 minutes to Eastwatch and stay in a hotel for the night, then move on tomorrow morning. Thoughts?” 

The four friends looked at each other, then said “hotel” in unison before bursting into laughter. No matter how much Brienne loved camping, the thought of an actual bed (not to mention an actual shower) made her almost giddy. And the thought of sharing an actual bed with Tormund brought up some agreeable feelings as well, but also a hint of nerves. 

It was fairly easy to resist the urge to fuck his brains out when they were both wrapped in sleeping bags in a tent, but it would take a lot more resolve in a plush hotel bed with nothing but sheets between them. No matter how physically attracted she was to Tormund, she knew that, right now at least, she was not emotionally ready to take that step with him. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and got up to help tear down their campsite. 

They packed up the van and piled in, discussing what to do that evening. Eastwatch was a small city, smaller than Winterfell, but still had a few restaurants and bars to choose from. 

“I would KILL for some sushi,” Renly said wistfully. 

“I doubt there’s a sushi restaurant,” grinned Tormund, “but you will have your pick of dive bars and burger joints. This is the far North, after all.” 

The clouds were gathering as they pulled in to the hotel. This one was not nearly as posh as the Winterfell Inn, but it was a better place to wait out a storm than a flimsy tent. They decided to check in to their rooms, get cleaned up, then meet back in the lobby to decide what to do from there. Sansa had insisted on reserving the rooms alone, so Brienne had a sinking feeling while following Tormund to their room. 

Tormund inserted the key into the door and swung it open to reveal…the honeymoon suite. 

“I’m going to murder her,” Brienne muttered under her breath as she stepped into the room, slamming the door behind her.


	8. Eastwatch

Tormund took a few steps into the room, looked around, then threw his head back and bellowed out a loud, boisterous laugh. His guffaws were so infectious that, despite her annoyance, Brienne found herself doubled over with her hands on her knees, winded from laughing so hard. Tormund caught his breath and looked at Brienne. “That Sansa. She’s a schemer, isn’t she?” 

“You have no idea,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye. They looked around the room. It was garishly decorated in red and gold, not Brienne’s favorite color combination. The king bed was outfitted with red silk sheets and a truly heinous metallic gold quilted headboard. There were rose petals scattered on the bed and an ice bucket holding a bottle of champagne on the desk. And in the corner of the room, the piece de resistance – a red heart-shaped Jacuzzi tub sunken into the floor. There were also mirrors everywhere, although, blessedly, not on the ceiling.

She checked out the bathroom, which was much more tastefully decorated in white and gold tile. The walk-in shower had two showerheads and was surrounded on three sides by clear glass. She supposed there was usually no need for privacy in a honeymoon suite, but it was just so…open. She tore her eyes away from the shower and walked out of the bathroom.

Tormund was already pulling clothes out of his pack and throwing them on the bed. “Do you want first shower? Or we could take advantage of this classy, beautiful tub here…” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. She crossed her arms and cocked her head at him. “Right-o, I’ll take first shower then!” 

He walked into the bathroom but didn’t close the door. She heard the soft _fwump_ of clothing hitting the floor, the shower door opening, and the water turning on. He began singing, loudly, something about a red bear and a blue lady. She wondered at how he could be so cavalier while naked and wet with not even a door separating them. She could just walk in and see all of him, at any moment… _unless that’s what he wants._

Tingles flooded through her as she imagined what he was doing in the shower. Was he thinking about her? About what he’d do if she stepped into the shower with him? _Gods, what is he doing to me?_  

Brienne shot up off the bed and yelled “I’m going to Sansa’s room” in the general direction of the bathroom, trying her hardest not to look as she walked past. She practically ran down the hall to Sansa and Renly’s room and pounded on the door. Sansa swung the door open, and Brienne didn’t wait for an invitation before pushing past her.

“First of all, the honeymoon suite? Very funny.” Brienne sat down heavily on one of the beds, where Renly was lounging and watching a rerun of _Friends_.

“It was the only room they had left, I swear,” Sansa said in a falsely apologetic tone before smirking mischievously.

“Ok, I don’t believe you at all, but that’s not why I’m here. I need you to talk me out of jumping Tormund’s bones immediately.”

Sansa looked puzzled. “Why would we do that? You’re terrible at hiding your emotions, and you’re even worse at hiding your horniness. You look at him the same way you look at the dessert cart at restaurants. Why are you depriving yourself of something you obviously want?”

Brienne had to think about that for a moment. “I don’t know, I guess…because I’ve only ever been with one other guy?”

Renly sat up and looked at her. “But even you have said that wasn’t because of some moral obligation, it was…”

“Lack of opportunity, I know,” Brienne finished.

He shook her by the shoulders. “Hello! This is opportunity, smacking you in the face! Unless you’re planning on getting back together with Jaime, there’s going to be a second. Tormund worships you, and you seem to think pretty highly of him too. Why _not_ him?”

Sansa nodded in agreement. “I know you’ve never had casual sex…hells, you’ve barely even had a casual make out…but as long as you’re safe about it, it can be _fun_. And trust me, I would not be saying this if I didn’t think you absolutely wanted to.”

Brienne couldn’t deny that. It was practically all she could think about. She sighed heavily. “I hate how right you always are.”

“You didn’t really think we were going to talk you out of it, did you? Admit it, you came here for validation, and we are HAPPY to give it. And if it’s bad, just pretend you’re on your period for the rest of the trip. No harm, no foul.”

Brienne laughed and shook her head. “For some reason I HIGHLY doubt it’s going to be bad.”

“OH MY GODS YOU’RE GONNA DO IT! We demand a full play-by-play afterward!” Renly was practically jumping on the bed.

Brienne hit him with a pillow. “That is something you are NOT going to get, sickos.”

“Ugh, all this sex talk has me hot and bothered. Fuck the no-phones rule, I’m going to go have Facetime sex with Sandor. See ya later!” She got up and walked into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Brienne and Renly looked at each other for a beat, then dissolved into laughter. “I should probably go back to my room and get cleaned up before going out in public.” She threw her arms around his shoulders before getting up and walking out of the room, shouting “Have fun!” at the bathroom door as she passed. “You too!” came the muffled response from the other side of the door.

She thought hard about what Renly said while she walked back to her room. _Unless you’re planning on getting back together with Jaime…_

That couldn’t be why she was so scared of giving into her feelings about Tormund. Could it? She and Jaime were over. It would take an act of the gods for them to get back together. She was sure he wasn’t thinking about her while women were throwing themselves at him, like they always did, even throughout their whole relationship. No, Jaime made his choices, and he didn’t get to dictate hers.

When Brienne got back into the room, she walked in to Tormund napping on the bed in a white hotel robe, hair still wet from his shower. She went into the bathroom as quietly as possible, shut the door behind her, and turned on the water.

She stripped off her clothes and looked at herself in the mirror, studying the planes and curves of her body. _A woman’s body. A grown, sexual, desirable woman, who makes her own decisions based on what she wants and does not let others’ expectations affect her._

The personal hype speech worked surprisingly well, and she stepped into the shower feeling bold and confident. She washed, scrubbed, shaved, and polished until her skin was shiny and red and her fingertips were wrinkled as prunes. She smoothed on some of the flowery-smelling hotel lotion, pulled on the other robe and walked out of the bathroom.

Tormund was still dozing, so she climbed into the bed next to him and plopped down heavily, hoping to wake him. It worked – he opened his eyes slowly and turned to look at her, pushing a strand of damp hair away from her face. “You should have gotten in with me,” he said drowsily.

“I should have,” she replied, grazing her hand along the side of his neck and up to the back of his head, tangling them in his hair. She pulled his face forward and pressed her mouth to his, muffling the _mmm_ sound coming from his throat. She noted with amusement that they always seemed to open their mouths at the same time, deepening the kiss simultaneously. Their tongues circled and sparred, sending a rush of heat between her legs.

Tormund wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her partially on top of him, their legs intertwined. Brienne swung her leg to his other side to straddle him. She broke the kiss and sat up, locking eyes with him as she pulled the shoulders of the robe down, the tie at the waist the only thing holding it on her body. The noise he made shot straight to her groin. She leaned forward to capture his mouth in another eager kiss.

His hands ranged up her thighs, then slid up her ribcage and to her breasts. He palmed them in both hands, capturing her nipples between his fingers and pulling gently. Fire surged through her nerve endings. She hissed through her teeth and arched into his touch, rocking her hips against the hardness underneath her. She felt herself growing damp and swollen.

He removed his hands and placed them back on her thighs, squeezing. “Wait,” he said against her mouth. “What are we doing?”

“I think you know what we’re doing,” she breathed as she pulled his lower lip with her teeth.

He moaned into her mouth, then gently pushed her up by the shoulders, eliciting a perplexed look from Brienne. “Wait,” he repeated, looking over at the clock on the bedside table. “We have to meet the group soon. You have no idea how much I want to do this…but I want to take my time with you.” He sat up and repositioned the robe on her shoulders, then kissed her on the side of her neck. “It’ll be worth it, I promise.”

Brienne made a sound halfway between a groan and a sigh, then swung her leg off of him and took a few deep breaths to slow her racing heart. His words, _I want to take my time with you_ , were not helping to calm her down. She could still hear the blood pounding in her veins and feel the heat throbbing between her legs.

He got up off the bed and walked over to his suitcase. “Come on. Let’s get dressed, make an appearance with the group. Then, we can come back and finish what _you_ ,” he gestured toward her with a shirt in his hand, “just started.” He turned away from her to face the open window, then unceremoniously dropped his robe.

A startled sound escaped from her lips as she took in his naked form. She could only see the back of him, but even that was a work of art. His back was broad and covered with freckles, and his muscles rippled as he dug through his suitcase. She swept her eyes to his narrow waist and down to a truly magnificent ass. It was round, high, and hard, and it was all she could do to stop herself from lunging over the bed and biting it. _Later_ , she chided herself. She squirmed and clenched her legs together in anticipation.

Brienne reluctantly tore her gaze away from Tormund and swung her legs off the bed. She walked toward her suitcase and rifled through her clothes, unenthused about any of the options available to her. Tormund must have heard her sighing and muttering to herself, because he walked over and started rummaging. He’d (sadly) put pants on, but he was still shirtless, and his bare skin in such close proximity made her belly clench. 

He picked up a sage green sweater and held it up to her. He nodded and said, “This,” before depositing it into her hands and walking back to the other side of the room. The casual intimacy of him picking out her clothes flustered her even more. She grabbed a pair of jeans and took her clothes into the bathroom, not quite as nonchalant about nudity as Tormund.

She dressed quickly and ran a comb through her still-damp hair, knowing full well what kind of looks and comments her disheveled appearance would elicit from her friends. But she just couldn’t bring herself to care when her mind was fully occupied with what was going to happen later.

She walked out and came upon Tormund pulling a thick, cable-knit navy sweater over his head. It was REALLY unfair how sexy he could make a simple sweater look. He’d also combed his hair back into a short ponytail at the nape of his neck, which emphasized his high, sharp cheekbones and vast green eyes. Her heart jumped in her chest when he turned and flashed that wide grin at her.

“Wow,” she couldn’t stop herself from uttering. “That sweater looks nice on you,” she quickly added, hoping to disguise her obvious agitation. “Let’s go.”

He followed her out of the room and to the elevator. As soon as the door closed, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into him, covering her mouth with his and plunging his tongue inside. Her body was still so tightly wound from earlier that it didn’t take much for her to respond in kind. She moaned against his mouth and clutched at his back, tongue desperately sliding against his.

He slipped a hand under her sweater and brushed the skin of her waist excruciatingly lightly, sending a jolt of electricity through her veins. She gasped and arched against him, provoking a devilish chuckle from deep in his throat. Then, as quickly as the kiss started, it was over, Tormund pulling away to lean casually against the opposite wall of the elevator. His nearly-black eyes were the only indication that they had just been doing anything out of the ordinary.

Brienne silently cursed him and made a note to find out how he hid it so well. She knew she looked like she’d just run a 5K – cheeks blazing, chest heaving, hands shaking.

She bit her lip and glared at him. “Now _you’re_ the one playing dirty.”

He continued leaning and smiling that insouciant smile. “Consider us even.” The elevator door opened and he gestured with his arm, following as she walked out.

The rest of the group was already in the lobby, standing in a loose circle. Brienne willed herself to appear completely normal even though she was still tingling from her fingertips to her toes. She walked up as nonchalantly as possible, ignoring the eager, inquisitive looks from Renly and Sansa.

They decided on a bar & grill a few blocks away called The Inn at the Crossroads, and while they walked, Sansa pulled Brienne to the back of the group. “So? Did you do it? How was it? Is he big? I bet he’s big,” Sansa rattled out. Brienne put a hand up to stop her. “It hasn’t happened yet, and I told you, you are not getting anything but the broadest details. I know you’re sex-starved, but you’re not getting any porny play-by-plays from me.”

Sansa huffed. “Fine, but you HAVE to tell me when it happens. You owe it to me for convincing you. That sweater looks great on you, by the way.”

She blushed at the compliment. “Thank you. And I will, don’t worry,” she confirmed, before linking her arm through Sansa’s and catching up to the group. Brienne’s eyes kept straying down to Tormund’s ass, cupped perfectly by his khaki pants. Her blood still hummed from their kiss in the elevator, despite all her efforts to pull herself together.

The Inn at the Crossroads was a place much like The She-Wolf in Winterfell – an all-in-one type establishment with food, drinks, games, and, much to Brienne’s chagrin, dancing. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d danced – probably in elementary school, before she was a full head taller and four shoe sizes bigger than all her peers. She occasionally allowed Renly to drag her onto the floor for a slow song at a wedding or school dance, but that was the extent of it. She foresaw a lot of refusals and excuses in her future tonight.

The group sat down at a table and ordered drinks. Tormund’s knee pressed against Brienne’s, warm and solid, heat blooming under her skin at the point of contact. His hand rested on the knee closest to Brienne’s, moving closer as the six of them chatted about this and that. His pinky finger brushed slow circles against her thigh, sending a shudder through her that wouldn’t be perceptible to anyone but him. He quirked his mouth into a half-smile without looking at her.

Throughout the rest of the night, she realized that Tormund had made it a game to find more and more ways to fluster her. When their food arrived, she innocently asked how his tasted. “It’s pretty good,” he said, then leaned close and purred in her ear, “but I bet you taste better.” She swore she heard an audible _whoosh_ as all the blood in her body raced toward her inner thighs.

When dessert arrived, he stuck two fingers in the whipped cream on his cheesecake and slowly licked it off, closing his eyes and moaning softly as his lips closed around his fingers. She didn’t realize she was staring at him until his eyes darted toward her, holding her gaze as he removed his fingers from his mouth. A noise that could only be described as a squeak emanated from her throat. She took a deep breath to slow her heartbeat, but it didn’t do anything to calm the throbbing between her legs.

After dinner and a few more drinks, during which Tormund’s hand had migrated dangerously high up her thigh, he suddenly slammed his empty beer bottle on the table and shot up out of his seat. He grabbed Brienne by the elbow and said, “Let’s dance!”

“Ohhhh no no no I don’t dance –“ she protested as he dragged her toward the dance floor, which was only occupied by a few stumbly drunks and one couple giving their best effort to suck each other’s faces off.

He deposited her in the center of the floor and began cavorting in a circle around her. She wouldn’t call him a _good_ dancer, but his enthusiasm was contagious, and she couldn’t help but relax and laugh at his antics. He grabbed her hands and swung her around, twirling and dipping her like something out of an old musical. She was clumsy and uncoordinated, yes, but being in his orbit made her feel strangely unselfconscious. She also found herself amazed once again at how he could go from sultry and seductive to totally goofy in the span of five seconds. 

Brienne caught Renly’s eye, who was looking at her with nothing less than shock plastered on his face. He hadn’t seen her dance since they were 10. She shrugged and laughed again.

The music slowed, and Tormund wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed her tightly against him. The provocative look was back in his eyes. “So…are you going to let me take you home now? I’ve been hard all night thinking about you.” She gasped at his salacious words. “Tormund!” she hissed, blushing so fiercely she thought her cheeks might catch on fire. He laughed, getting exactly the reaction he wanted. “Is that a yes?” he whispered in her ear, taking her earlobe between his teeth and pulling gently.

She was thankful his arms were still wrapped around her – her knees would have buckled right then and there if not. She managed to breathe something that sounded like “yes” into his ear before he tugged her off the dance floor and back to the group.

“We’re pretty tired, so we’re going to head back,” he said to four very unconvinced faces around the table. Their friends hooted and hollered after them, but Brienne barely registered them as she and Tormund walked quickly to the door.

They all but ran the two blocks back to the hotel, stopping twice to attack each other’s mouths against random walls and doorways. They stumbled into the hotel and to the elevator, thanking the gods that it was empty when the doors slid open. She dragged him inside and didn’t even wait for the door to close before shoving her tongue into his mouth, pushing him into the wall and pressing the front of her body firmly against his. Tormund’s hands squeezed her ass and she moaned obscenely into his mouth.

The elevator doors opened onto their floor and they stepped out without breaking the kiss. They stumbled over each other’s feet all the way to their door. Brienne finally had to pull away when she couldn’t get the key into the door, but was still distracted by Tormund flicking his tongue against her neck and ear. She finally got it open after much cursing and fumbling, then pulled him inside by his collar, capturing his mouth in another deep kiss.

For the third time that day, to Brienne’s complete and total frustration, Tormund cried, “Wait!” He broke the kiss and pulled her by the hand farther into the room.

The red Jacuzzi tub was full of steaming water with rose petals floating on top, several electric candles were scattered around the room, and two glasses of champagne sat on the desk.

“I made a call back at the bar,” he grinned while she took in the scene. “I figured, why not take advantage of the honeymoon suite?”

She chuckled and kissed him again, slower, with less urgency. "That's better," he growled. "Remember, I want to take my time with you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger, bitches!!
> 
> Spoiler alert: they're gonna fuck. Just not in this chapter. I want to make sure it's perfect and it has been way too long since I updated. Patience, my friends :)


	9. Honeymoon Suite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One thing I have learned from this exercise is that I'm an excruciatingly slow writer. Shorter chapters from here on out, I promise!

Tormund slid his hands to the hem of her sweater, pulling it up and over her head. Brienne did the same to him, unable to resist running her hands up and down his hard chest. Desire curled low in her belly at the noise he made. He deftly unhooked her bra while sucking on her shoulder and neck, sliding it off and pressing his warm bare chest against hers.

His hands ranged up and down her back, learning the curves and planes of her body, trailing sparks wherever he touched. She tilted her head to press her mouth against his, brushing her tongue softly against his lips. His tongue met hers with enthusiasm. He moaned softly and dug his fingertips into her back.

He moved his hands to the waistband of her jeans, fingers lightly brushing the skin of her lower belly as he unbuttoned them. She shuddered and reached for his belt, amazed at how her shaking hands were able to unbuckle it at all. He unzipped her pants and kneeled to push them down, planting a kiss on the front of her thigh. It was chaste and sweet, but the proximity of his lips to her groin made her blood burn. She stepped out of her pants and pulled him back up.

She pulled his zipper down and pushed his pants past his hips, flattening her palms against his skin as she did so. They fell to his ankles, and she chanced a look down at his black boxer briefs and the enormous bulge at the front of them. She ran her hands back up, tangling her fingers in the coarse red hair on his chest. She was fascinated by the pure manliness of his body, the broad, heavy bulk of him.

Brienne gasped in surprise when Tormund’s fingers slipped into the waistband of her red panties. He chuckled against her mouth. “Are you going to get into the bath with your underwear on? The water’s getting cold.” 

She’d already forgotten about the bath. She smiled shyly and pulled her panties down, turning from him and quickly submerging herself into the water. She knew he found her desirable, but that old self-consciousness reared its ugly head every once in a while, and she felt unsure about showing him her totally naked form.

“So, you’re shy now?” he asked, crossing his arms and flashing her a disappointed look as she sank into the water and out of his sight.

She ignored his jab. “Well, are _you_ going to get in with your underwear on? The water’s getting cold,” she repeated his words to him in a mischievous tone. 

The corners of his mouth quirked upward. He held her gaze intensely as he pulled his boxer briefs down and stood up proudly in front of her. “Good gods,” she gasped, the words accidentally tumbling out of her as she took in the sight of his cock standing at attention. He was, for lack of a better word, huge, the thick length of him springing out of a thatch of red curls. She clenched her legs together subconsciously even as heat pooled between them. He smiled at her and twitched one eyebrow up before stepping into the water. 

Brienne’s heart raced as he settled himself across from her in the tub. He reached over and picked up her legs, setting them on his lap before he began massaging them. Her head fell back and she moaned softly. “Mmmm, just like the hot springs. Can you believe that was only a week ago?”

“It does seem like we’ve known each other a lot longer than that, doesn’t it?” Tormund said quietly. His hands worked up and down her calves, then slid up her thighs and rested on her hips. He brushed her hipbones with his thumbs, a rush of heat coursing through her body before settling firmly between her legs. She opened her eyes to Tormund’s face inches from hers, his eyes black with desire, lips parted slightly. 

She ran her fingers through his beard and cupped his face, leaning forward to brush her lips on his. She moved her hand to the back of his head to pull his ponytail out, then ruffled his hair so it fell around his face wildly. “Not a fan of the ponytail?” he asked, smiling as he shook his hair out further.

“Oh, no, I like the ponytail. I just wanted to be able to do this.” She grabbed him by the hair and pulled his head toward hers, capturing his mouth in a greedy kiss. Their tongues thrusted and sparred, sending waves of crackling heat through her nerve endings. His hands roamed up and down her thighs, to her back, then around to gently cup her breasts. His thumbs brushed her sensitive nipples ever so lightly, hardening them immediately. A sound halfway between a gasp and a moan escaped her lips.

He siezed her bottom lip in his teeth, sucking it into his mouth. She wound her fingers tighter into his hair and lifted her head to allow him to trail his tongue along her jawline and throat. The tingle between her thighs progressed to a full-blown ache. She wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him closer, sloshing water over the edge of the bathtub as they collided. 

Tormund’s hands were still on her breasts, gently massaging the small mounds, pinching and teasing her pink nipples. Brienne moved hers down his chest and along his muscled stomach, pausing just above his red curls. Even before she touched him, Tormund sucked in a ragged breath and shivered despite the warmth of the water. The blood pounded in her ears as she slid her hand to the base of his cock and squeezed. He was thick, smooth as velvet and hard as iron. “Brienne,” he rasped. 

Hearing her name on his lips intensified her need for him. She used her other hand to grab one of his and move it between her legs. She shuddered when his fingers grazed her folds, plump and slick with desire. She was so ready that two of his big fingers easily slid inside her, a soft cry escaping her lips. He moved them in and out slowly, her hips rocking to his rhythm. 

She stroked his hard length again, and a strangled sound flew from his mouth before he grabbed her hand and moved it away. “I don’t want this to be over before it begins,” he muttered against her mouth, fingers still working their magic inside her. Tingles started building up at the base of her spine. 

“Bed,” Brienne commanded. She needed to feel him all over her, needed him inside her when she came. Even the water was too much of a barrier between them. 

He grasped her ass with both hands and lifted her (easily, to her surprise) to sit on the side of the bathtub. He settled himself between her legs while his hands roamed over her body, coming to rest in the middle of her back and drawing her into him. He flicked his tongue out onto one of her nipples before sucking it into his mouth. Her head flew back so violently that he stopped to ask if she was okay. She grabbed the back of his head and shoved it toward her chest again. He took that as a yes and drew her nipple back into his mouth, gently teasing it with his teeth and flicking it with his tongue. 

His mouth moved slowly downward, tongue lapping up the water dripping down her chest, swirling against her flat stomach and around her belly button. Her earlier self-consciousness was nowhere to be found as she shamelessly spread her legs wider for him. Completely forgetting about her “bed” edict, she throbbed with need, willing him to move farther down. 

Seemingly reading her mind, he looked up at her with a devilish grin and shifted his focus to the inside of her knee. She groaned and fell back onto her elbows, shooting an icy glare at him. Her eyes rolled back when he flicked his tongue out onto her inner thigh, wiping the pout off her face. 

He threw her leg over his shoulder and moved his mouth up her thigh agonizingly slowly. By the time he reached the juncture of her leg and groin, she was practically begging for any touch.

He paused with his head between her legs, then looked up at her. His breath was hot on her skin, his beard barely brushing against the dark blonde curls there. She throbbed so intensely she thought it might actually kill her. “May I taste you, Brienne?” 

“Gods, YES,” she cried, provoking a teasing chuckle from Tormund. When he finally flattened his tongue against her entrance and slowly dragged it up her folds, she couldn’t hold back the loud, guttural moan that had been building in her throat. His tongue was like velvet, lapping up the moisture leaking from her with soft, slow strokes, then switching to quick flicks around her swollen clit. He sucked the sensitive nub into his mouth, and she all but screamed in agonizing pleasure.

She clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle the sounds emanating from her, but he looked up and roughly pulled it away. “Let me hear you,” he growled, the husky quality of his voice sending yet more waves of heat through her nerve endings. She complied, allowing her moans and cries to escape her throat freely. 

He returned to ravishing her, licking, sucking, teasing, biting, with the appetite of a starving man having his first meal in weeks. Her instincts took over and she grabbed the sides of his head, rolling her hips against his face while he fucked her with his tongue. It was unlike anything she had felt before, raw and animalistic and wild. 

Her breath became faster, her heart pounded in her ears, tension built up throughout her body. She let go of his head and slammed her hands flat against the floor, thighs tightening around him, back arching violently. She saw stars behind her squeezed-shut eyelids as waves of euphoria emanated from under his tongue and radiated outward, crashing intensely over her. 

Tormund moaned and hummed against her, the vibrations heightening the sensations wracking her body. She cried his name as her inner walls clenched and pulsated. He continued to lap up her moisture with his tongue even after her body went slack, falling back onto the floor with a thud and a gasp. She trembled and whimpered, his continued ministrations exquisitely torturous.

He gave her one last slow, firm pass of his tongue before moving up her body again, peppering her with kisses. She grabbed his head and licked and sucked at his lips, relishing the taste of herself on him. “I thought I told you to go to the bed,” she panted, pressing her forehead against his.

“It was too far. I couldn’t wait to taste you. Delicious, by the way,” he said while licking his lips and gazing at her with a carnal look in his eyes.

She swung her legs over the side of the tub and pulled him up by his arms. Tormund stepped out and grabbed one of the white towels stacked by the tub. He began to dry her off slowly, shivering as the soft cotton grazed over her supremely sensitive skin. She found the act erotic and surprisingly tender at the same time. 

Brienne took another towel and began moving it over his body, running it up and down his chest and arms before turning him around to tend to his back. She knelt to rub the towel up and down his tree trunk legs, then over his breathtaking ass. She remembered seeing it across the room earlier and did what she had wanted to do then: leaned forward and sunk her teeth in. He jumped, then looked at her with shock. “What was that for?” 

She gazed up at him innocently and flashed an impish smile. “It looked too good. I couldn’t resist.” 

Tormund laughed, then offered his hand and pulled her up into his arms, surprising her by lifting her off her feet and throwing her, squealing, onto the bed. He jumped onto her like a lion pouncing on his prey, even making an exaggerated growling sound before coming to rest with his hands and knees on either side of her. She giggled before pulling his beard down for a kiss. He slid his tongue along her lips, and remembering it between her legs moments ago made her throb again. She squirmed under him and reached down to graze the head of his cock. 

He hissed through his teeth, then parted her legs with his knee, settling himself between them. Their eyes locked and her heart raced, a slight edge of nervousness tempering the heat coursing through her veins. He reached between her legs and slid his hand up and down her folds, a whimper escaping her throat. “You’re so wet for me,” he purred into her ear. 

She ran her hands up his chest and to his shoulders, then hitched her leg over him and flipped him onto his back. He made a noise somewhere between a chuckle and a moan, grinning up at her. “I should have known you like to be on top." 

She didn’t tell him that she rarely ever allowed this position with Jaime, not wanting him to see this much of her, too afraid to hurt him. But with Tormund, she felt powerful and confident, beautiful even, and having this control eased her slight case of nerves. She straddled his thighs, placing her hands on his chest and leaning down to capture his mouth. He groaned when his hard cock pressed on her lower belly, his hands gently massaging her ass.

Brienne moved up slightly to slide her slick lower lips up and down his shaft, which twitched and hardened even more. Tormund dug his fingertips into her thighs and moaned, then pushed her up gently. “Hold that thought,” he said as he swung his legs off the bed and walked to his suitcase. He pulled a condom out and held it up. “No glove, no love,” he said with a grin before jumping back on to the bed. She bit her lip and smiled, again amazed at how he could be so silly and unbearably sexy at the same time.

She took it from him and tore the foil open, straddling him. She rolled the condom down to the base and he shuddered at her touch. She lifted her hips up so that she was hovering just above him, but hesitated slightly. She’d never seen a cock that big, much less had one inside her, and a jolt of fear ran through her. He sensed her hesitation and asked, “Are you sure?” 

She looked into his wide green eyes, pupils black with desire, and pushed the fear aside. She was familiar enough with pain, from her rough-and-tumble childhood to her MMA bouts, to know she could handle this. And she knew with certainty that she wanted this, wanted _him_. She leaned down and planted a soft kiss on his lips, then rested her forehead on his and whispered, “Yes.” 

She reached down to steady him, then slowly teased his tip along her entrance, spreading the wetness dripping from her. He groaned and clamped his hands around her thighs, squeezing his eyes shut. 

“Look at me,” she demanded, needing this connection to calm herself. He opened his eyes and locked them on hers, and she began to lower her body down onto him. She moved excruciatingly slowly, letting herself stretch and accommodate his thickness. A gasp escaped her lips and she dug her fingers into his chest as his cock filled her. She felt a quick pinching sensation and paused when he was halfway inside her, then lowered herself the rest of the way, settling her full weight on top of him. 

Tormund rumbled out a guttural moan, and she could tell he was struggling to remain still while she acclimated to him. She sat up straighter, feeling her lower belly tighten, her inner walls already clenching around him. His breath was loud and ragged, his fingers grasping and releasing her thighs. Her body tingled all over, his cock brushing against a hidden depth she didn’t know she possessed. She reveled in this new sense of fullness he provided, unlike anything she’d felt before. 

“You feel so good, Brienne,” he panted, his hands sliding up her thighs and coming to rest on her hipbones. He looked up at her like she was the most glorious thing he’d ever seen, eyes wide and mouth in the shape of an O. As much as she was focused on her own pleasure, she realized that she wanted to make _him_ feel just as good. She wanted to make him lose control, to hear him scream her name. 

She rolled her hips experimentally, the movement sending a flare of heat through her nerve endings. She cried out, the sound mingling with Tormund’s sharp intake of breath. The desire painted clearly on his face only served to heighten her own. 

She moved again, this time with more purpose. She used her strong thigh muscles to lift herself up, then back down again, both of them moaning every time his cock was fully buried inside her. His hands slid from her hips to grab the fleshy rounds of her ass, rubbing and kneading along with her rhythm. He began moving against her, thrusting gently at first, more insistently after he saw no vestiges of pain on her face. 

She bit her lip and stared into his eyes, the rhythm they’d found causing white-hot tingles to build up in her limbs. She tightened around him as his hands moved to her breasts, pinching and tugging her hard, sensitive nipples. She moaned and moved faster, riding him harder, her mind emptying of all thought save the sensations coursing through her body. 

Tormund’s face contorted and breath grew more ragged before he firmly pressed down on her hips, impeding her movements, and sat straight up. “Slow down,” he pleaded, gazing directly into her eyes and pressing his forehead against hers. 

He wrapped one arm high around her back and the other around her waist, pulling her close, pressing their bodies together in a more intimate embrace. She intertwined her fingers at the back of his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist, using their strong lengths to squeeze him tighter to her. 

His hands caressed up and down her back before he began moving again, slowly rolling his hips under her. She matched his movements, this new angle and rhythm reaching even greater depths, brushing an especially sensitive spot inside her. He dipped his head to lick the bead of sweat trailing down her chest before taking one of her nipples in his mouth, sucking and nipping with his teeth. 

The dual sensations of his cock filling her completely and his mouth lavishing attention on her nipples was almost too much to bear. Her heart pounded wildly. She began to lose control of her breathing, sucking air in irregular gasps between her moans of “yes, yes, yes.” Her fingernails dug into his skin hard enough to leave red crescent moons marking him as hers. With one quick movement of his hips, the dam holding back the building tension inside her broke violently.

She throbbed, shuddered and clenched around him. Shockwaves radiated from her deepest recesses to her fingertips, toes, and the top of her head. “TORMUND!” she cried, that being the only word her mind was able to conjure up at the moment, the excruciating pleasure he provided the only thought in her head. He continued to thrust up into her while tiny explosions coursed through her body, the feeling of him still moving in and out of her threatening to shatter her completely. She felt like she might cry, or die. 

His gasps and moans became louder and more frequent, his thrusts wilder and more irregular. He hooked his arms under hers and pulled her shoulders down for leverage, burying himself in her fully with one last, deep stroke. He shouted, “BRIENNE!” as he came, trembling, inside her. He collapsed on top of her with a sigh and buried his face in her neck, his beard tickling the sensitive flesh on her collarbone. 

They breathed together for a few minutes, Tormund shivering as Brienne’s fingernails grazed up and down his spine. He lifted his head and pushed a lock of hair away from her forehead, then pressed a sweet, soft kiss on her lips. His thumb brushed her jawline, the gentleness of the gesture contrasting with the animalistic intensity of their earlier activities.

Their wide eyes locked and they smiled at each other. “Wow,” Tormund breathed. 

“Yeah,” replied Brienne, as articulate as she was going to get in that moment.

He slid out of her with a soft gasp and planted a kiss on her forehead before walking to the bathroom to clean up. She watched him the whole way, eyes hungrily sweeping up and down his flushed and glistening body. She’d just had two mind-blowing orgasms, but still couldn’t stop thinking about all the things she wanted to do to him, the things she wanted him to do to her. 

This insatiable feeling was new, but not unwelcome. Tormund, with his rugged good looks, outsize personality, and direct way of speaking, had awakened something in her. Not just physically, but emotionally – she had shared so much with him on their hike together, one of the first days she’d known him, things it had taken months or even years for her to share with anyone else. He just…opened her up, somehow. 

Brienne would not normally find vulnerability to be a positive trait, but she was actually enjoying the way he disarmed her, threw her off balance in the best way, made her rethink so many things she thought she knew about herself.

And physically… _whew_. Even though that hadn’t been her first time, it felt like it was. She’d expected to feel different after her first time, like more of a woman or something, but she hadn’t then. She did now. 

He came out of the bathroom in his boxer briefs and slid back in bed beside her, bringing her thoughts back to the present. She propped herself up on her elbow to face him while he did the same. “I could practically hear you thinking over here. Nothing’s wrong, is it?” 

She cupped his face and grazed her thumb across his cheek. “No, not at all. I was just thinking about how…different this was.” 

“Different good?” 

She chuckled. It was adorable how concerned he was about her feelings. “Yes, different good. I’ve just never felt that confident before. It was a new experience.”

“I don’t understand how someone like you could ever feel unconfident.”

She searched his face for signs of facetiousness, but found none. He was serious as a heart attack.

She knit her brows together in confusion. “Tormund. I know what I look like. People have been telling me I’m too tall, too big, too mannish my whole life. I love when you compliment me, and I believe it, but a lifetime of insults and sneers is hard to get over.”

Tormund’s nostrils flared and mouth pressed into a hard line. “Do you know why people say those things? They’re scared of you. They can’t handle you and they know it. You know what I see when I look at you? A warrior. A goddess. The most amazing blue eyes I’ve ever seen, and legs that could crush me in a second, which I would happily die between. Those people are idiots. Fuck them. Actually…no. Don’t fuck them. Just fuck me.”

She blushed and giggled like some innocent little girl, then pushed him over. His normal joviality returned when he grabbed one of the pillows off the bed and whacked her with it.

Her mouth dropped open and she gasped in mock outrage. “Oh, you are so dead.” He scrambled to his knees as she picked up the other pillow and swung it right at his face. They walloped each other repeatedly, tussling and laughing, before he wrenched Brienne’s pillow out of her grasp and threw it off the bed. He grabbed her wrists and fell on top of her, pinning her between his legs.

Above her, his face was flushed and pupils blown. For once, she didn’t care about winning. She only wanted _him_. She relaxed her arms and parted her lips, inviting. “No dirty tricks this time. I promise.”

He bent his head to kiss her, and she deepened the kiss immediately, tracing her tongue along his mouth and plunging it in when he parted his lips. Their tongues met with a spark, and in mere seconds her breath was coming in gasps and heart pounding wildly. His hands still pinned her wrists above her head, his weight heavy and warm on top of her.

She moved under him, squirming and rubbing her thighs together, searching for friction to ease the ache that had already flamed back to life. She felt him smile against her mouth. “Ready again so soon?”

She shot him a look she usually reserved for the octagon, a look that said, _do your worst_. “Shut up and fuck me.”


	10. Honeymoon Suite II

“Shut up and fuck me.” The words surprised even herself, but this was the new Brienne, and the new Brienne asked for exactly what she wanted in no uncertain terms.

Tormund growled a throaty noise and dipped his head down to nip at the side of her neck. She rid him of his underwear and stroked up and down the length of his cock, already rock-hard, provoking a shudder and a low moan from Tormund. Making him feel good was intoxicating. The creak of the bed mingled with Brienne’s groan of frustration as he got up to grab another condom. 

Impatient, she began sliding her hands over her body, one moving up to roll her hard nipple in her fingers, the other down to slip into the wetness between her legs. After rolling the condom down his shaft, he began walking to the side of the bed but froze at the foot of it, his eyes devouring her prone form, her searching fingers. 

“Fuck if that’s not the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen,” he purred as he squeezed the base of his cock and fondled his balls. She met his eyes and stilled her hands, expecting him to join her on the bed, but he remained in place. “Don’t stop on account of me, darlin’,” he said through heavy eyelids. _He wants to watch_ , she realized, blushing at the understanding. She’d never done this before, but what was one more “first” to add to the list? 

She bit her lip and shuddered as her hands began moving once again. His eyes nearly rolled back into his head when she slipped two fingers deep inside herself and began rocking her hips against her hand. Her inner walls fluttered around her fingers as her other hand continued massaging and pinching her nipple, breath coming in irregular gasps.

She watched him struggle to keep his hand still on his cock, his eyes black with lust, as she bucked harder. She gasped and moaned, bringing herself just to the edge. It took every ounce of self-control she had to pull her fingers out and lay her hands next to her on the bed.

“I want you inside me when I come,” she panted, spreading her legs wider, beckoning.

As if her words broke a spell that had kept him frozen in place, he pounced on the bed, lifting her leg over his shoulder and thrusting into her with one long, powerful stroke. The force nearly knocked her head into the headboard. Her yelp and his groan mingled in the air. 

She was still so sensitive that his thrusts were almost painful, but in the best way. She was totally at his mercy. All she could do was arch her back and grab fistfuls of the sheets as he drove into her again and again. Her body tensed and tingled, muscles spasmed as she submitted to his onslaught. There was nothing gentle about this – it was pure lust, uninhibited and uncontrollable. 

Tormund placed her other leg over his shoulder and gripped her thighs, rolling his hips in an undulating motion that sent jolts of pleasure through her body. This new angle opened her up and hit yet another spot she’d never reached before, and it only took a few strokes before she was coming undone, clenching and fluttering and exploding like a firework under him. She tried to cry out but no sound emerged, her mouth fixed in the shape of an O. 

Brienne’s mind emptied as her climax raced through her. She arched so intensely that only the back of her head and her hands touched the bed. Tormund continued his assault, gripping her thighs tightly as he pounded deep into her over and over. She whined helplessly, aftershocks rippling through her spent body. “Ah, fuck!” he shouted, his thrusting losing all sense of pace and rhythm as he buried himself in her, shaking and groaning through his orgasm. 

He stilled above her, then slumped down heavily, panting and trembling. “You’re going to be the death of me, woman,” he said teasingly after sliding out of her and rolling to his side. Once she regained her ability to move, she turned her head and smiled, trying to think of something flirty to say back but coming up blank. She made a note to work on her dirty talk if she wanted to keep up with him. Perhaps she’d ask Sansa for tips tomorrow. 

All she could do right now was stare at him, and when he returned her smile, her heart fluttered alarmingly in her chest. He pulled her closer, strong arms enveloping her in a warm embrace. A warning bell chimed somewhere in the back of her mind, telling her that falling asleep in his arms was probably not the best idea if she really wanted this to be just sex, but she was too tired to acknowledge it. She drifted off with her forehead pressed to his chest, their limbs intertwined, the steady sound of his heartbeat lulling her into a dreamless sleep.

 

* * *

 

Brienne woke the next morning surprised to find that she and Tormund has disentangled sometime during the night – she didn’t remember moving at all. He was on his back next to her, one arm on the pillow over his head, the other dangling off the bed. The red satin sheet was crumpled on top of him, exposing his chest and one bent leg. His face looked soft and vulnerable in sleep, lips parted slightly and eyelashes fluttering. She tore her eyes from his sleeping form and made her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face, hoping to be a little more presentable when he woke up.

When she came out, she found that he’d stirred in his sleep, causing the sheet to slide down to his thighs. His cock was already hard and arching upward, the sight sending a wave of heat between her thighs. She ignored the wetness pooling there and decided she was going to make this morning about him, to show him just how much she appreciated the care he took with her last night.

She climbed onto the bed and settled between his legs, grazing her hands softly up and down his thighs, trying to wake him gently. His eyes fluttered open, his face momentarily perplexed until she bent down to drag her tongue from the base of his cock to the tip. He immediately balled the sheets into his fists and gasped _oh_ , and she could tell he was fighting to keep his hips still.

This power over him, this ability to make him moan and shudder, was thrilling. She grasped the base of his cock with one hand and swirled her tongue around the tip, lapping up the clear droplet of moisture beading there. Tormund’s breath was loud and irregular and punctuated with little whimpers and gasps. When she closed her mouth around his tip, his hands flew to her head, but they weren’t rough or insistent. They rested gently on her head, his fingertips swirling softly in her hair.

She slid her mouth down his hard length, feeling him brush the back of her throat. He was too big to even fit half of him in her mouth, but it must have been good enough, because his hands twitched and he cried “BRIENNE!” when she slid back up. Emboldened, she took him a little deeper this time, pushing past the slight discomfort when she heard him moan, “Oh, fuck.” Her only concern was making him come undone.

She squeezed the base of his cock and continued to bob up and down on his long shaft. She felt him growing even harder under her tongue, tasted the moisture leaking from him. He tasted like salt and musk and _man_ , and she wanted more of it. Her cheeks hollowed as she sucked powerfully, willing him to let go, to fill her in every way.

His fingers pulled gently at her hair. “Brienne…” he panted, “I’m going to…” The end of the statement dissolved into a guttural moan when she pumped her hand up and down. She squeezed his ass, hard, with her other hand, reveling in the way his muscle tensed under her touch. Her jaw began to ache, but she moved through it, redoubling her efforts as if she was trying to suck the very life out of him.

Tormund threw his hands down on the bed and gripped the sheets so hard they almost ripped. He shuddered and roared just as she felt his cock pulse and hot liquid spill down her throat. She swallowed it down, wanting to wring every last drop from him. His moans faded out to quiet gasps as he began softening in her mouth. She pulled her head up and released him with a pop, taking pleasure in the tremble that shook through him.

She looked up at him and saw surprise, awe, and veneration on his face. She dragged the back of her hand across her mouth and crawled up the bed, laying down next to him. His mouth remained slightly open as he turned to look at her through half-closed eyes.

“Good morning,” she purred, hoping it sounded as flirty as she meant it to, and propped herself up on her elbow.

 “That was, by far, the best way I’ve ever been woken up,” he said in a gravelly voice. He rolled over and pressed his mouth to hers, and although the kiss was meant to be a chaste greeting, it sent heat flowing through her veins. She struggled to resist the urge to deepen it and pull his body closer for another round.

Reluctantly, she broke away and looked at him again. His eyes were especially green in the morning, the mist of sleep making them look even more like the wind-tossed sea than normal. Her heart squeezed in her chest when he quirked one side of his mouth up at her. She reached over to run her fingers through his beard, and he caught her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. A thought niggled at the back of her mind – _I wouldn’t mind waking up to this every day_.

Her heart raced. It was all so intimate, too intimate, and she felt panic creeping in. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This was supposed to be no-strings-attached sex for two weeks before going back to real life. But how could it be, when he made her feel the way he did just by smiling at her or fixing those sea-green eyes on her or telling her how beautiful she is, and believing it? Whether she liked it or not, strings had firmly attached themselves the first time they kissed.

Brienne rolled out of bed quickly, wrapping the sheet around her, before he could see the wetness prickling at her eyes. Who was this woman, nearly crying over a man she hardly knew? But she couldn’t really say she hardly knew him. The armor she’d been so carefully crafting around herself her whole life fell away when she was with him. He made her want to tell him things she didn’t tell anyone, to allow him unfettered access to her body, her heart and her soul. 

She had never felt like this about anyone, and it was just her luck that in a week, she was going to be flying back across the continent to godforsaken King’s Landing, leaving a sliver of her heart here in the North. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, leaning her head against the bathroom door. These thoughts were too deep for so early in the morning. She’d make the most of their remaining time together, and whatever came after could be dealt with then.

She came back out to Tormund pulling clothes out of his suitcase. He turned and cocked his head at her. “You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?” she asked, leaning against the wall and giving him a once-over.

“Thinking. You think too much. Just relax and enjoy the ride.”

She raised an eyebrow at the double entendre. How did he always know what she was thinking?

He walked toward her and gave the sheet, which was still wrapped around her, one firm tug, dropping and pooling it at her feet. His naked closeness made her skin prickle and her heart thunder.

He took her hand and guided her to the bathroom. “I’m taking a shower, and you’re joining me.”

She sat on the counter and watched him while he turned the water on. When steam filled the glass cube, he stepped in, giving her an expectant look that reminded her of a puppy waiting for its master to throw a toy. She hopped down and joined him, sucking in a breath as the hot water ran over her sensitive skin. 

Tormund immediately gathered her into his arms and buried his face in the junction of her neck and shoulder. She wrapped her arms low around his back and just stood there for a while, enjoying the feeling of his hard body pressed fully against hers and the hot water pounding down on them. His cock twitched between them, deciding on its own that the time for snuggling was over. He grazed her neck with his teeth, sending sparks tumbling southward and a soft moan flying from her lips.

Brienne’s hands moved from his back to his ass, digging her fingers in and grinding her body against his now fully hard cock. He groaned and moved his head to crush his mouth on hers, tongue plunging in desperately. Their wet bodies slid against each other with urgency, hands mapping every inch of each other’s skin. 

He took his cock in hand and glided it up and down her folds. Her hips began moving of their own volition, rocking against the tip of his cock, seeking her pleasure. He backed her up against the wall of the shower and paused with his tip just at her entrance. “Can I?” he asked, and she breathed “yes” before the words were even out of his mouth.

Tormund brought one of Brienne’s legs up and wrapped it around his waist before sliding into her with ease. He fucked her with long, languorous strokes, pulling out nearly all the way before buying himself up to the hilt again. All she could do was clutch his back and roll her hips while moaning his name as he hit that magical spot over and over. 

The contrast of the cold tile on her back and the hot water running down her body heightened all her sensations, including the jolts of pure euphoria that rocked through her body every time he thrust into her. She pressed her forehead to his and looked down to see him sliding in and out, one of the most erotic sights she’d ever laid eyes on. 

The now-familiar buildup of tension along her spine began in earnest. Brienne squeezed her eyes shut when her inner walls started pulsating and clenching around his cock, gasping and whimpering while waves of pleasure broke over her body. Her legs trembled, and she had to wrap her arms tightly around his neck to stay upright. He pressed her more firmly against the wall of the shower while his hips snapped faster now, a huff of air escaping his lips with every thrust. Just as her climax began to recede, he pulled out and came onto her stomach with a shudder. 

Her leg dropped heavily to the floor and her head fell onto his shoulder. He leaned his full weight on her and held onto her hips, turning his head to press his lips to the side of her face. They held on to each other, shaking and gasping, until their pulses slowed and breathing regulated. Tormund brushed a soft kiss to her lips, then reached up for the small bar of soap on the ledge. 

Brienne chuckled, still leaning heavily on the wall. “I forgot what we were supposed to be doing in here.” 

“There’s more than one use for a shower, you know,” he said slyly, turning her around to run the bar of soap over her back and shoulders. She shivered at the feeling of his fingertips grazing her skin. What was it about this man that made her respond to his touch this way? She’d had four mind-blowing orgasms in the past eight hours, and she would honestly be ready to do it again in a few minutes if he just said the word. 

Tormund turned her back around and began to move the soap along her front, but she took it from him and lathered herself up. If they were going to leave this shower today, she needed his hands far away from her breasts and other sensitive areas. He shot her a brief look of disappointment before grabbing the shampoo off the ledge and pouring some into his hands, working it through her hair with his fingertips. She practically melted into a puddle of goo, leaning back into him while he massaged her scalp.

She rinsed off, then turned her attentions to him, washing his back and shampooing his hair like he’d done to her. Just touching like this, without any purposeful sexual undertones (though Tormund’s whole being was one big sexual undertone), felt so good and right, and she thought she might miss this the most after their time together was through. She shook the thought out of her head and reminded herself to relax and enjoy the ride, as Tormund had said. 

They finished up in the shower and toweled off, then reluctantly got dressed. Tormund asked Brienne to call Margaery and Sansa’s rooms to tell them they’d meet in the lobby in half an hour. When Margaery answered the phone, she immediately started peppering Brienne with questions about her night. “I’ll tell you in the van!” she whispered harshly, blushing already at the knowledge that they were going to pull every dirty detail from her, or die trying.


	11. The Coast

Tormund was quiet while they packed up, and Brienne swore he paused and looked back at the room wistfully before they shut the door behind them. She gave him a questioning look.

“I was just thinking about how my days of being able to be in hot water without getting rock-hard are over.” She spat out a laugh, a loud, braying sound that immediately embarrassed her. Her laugh was just one of the many things she’d been made to feel self-conscious about throughout her life. She clapped a hand over her mouth, but he pulled it away gently. “I like when you do that.”

“What, bark like a seal?” she asked with a scoff.

“When you laugh. You don’t let yourself go very often. You should do it more.” He pecked her on the lips before making his way down the hallway.

She blushed, lips tingling, and followed him to the elevator.

They were the first of their group to get to the lobby. The others stumbled in soon after, looking worse for wear – she wondered how much later they stayed at the bar after she and Tormund left. Heat crept up her cheeks remembering how they barely made it into their room before pouncing on each other.

Tormund circled them up and explained that this morning, they’d be driving just over three hours down the coast to their next campsite.

Margaery sidled up next to her and waggled her eyebrows. “Three hours. Plenty of time for you to tell us ALL about your night.” Brienne rolled her eyes, but smiled in spite of herself.

When they got to the van, Margaery laid a hand on Alek’s shoulder and steered him to the front seat. “You’re taking the front today. We have some girl talk to get to.” He shrugged and climbed in. Margaery clearly wore the pants in that relationship, if you could call it that.

“This looks like trouble,” Tormund remarked as the four friends climbed in the back of the van. Brienne and Sansa sat in the far back, with Margaery and Renly in the middle.

Brienne caught his eye in the rearview mirror. “It’s just girl talk,” she repeated, flashing him a mischievous smile. He shook his head but returned her smile. She noticed with appreciation that he turned the music up a little louder than normal.

As soon as they were moving, all three of her friends whipped their heads toward her. “So? Spill it!” Sansa goaded, slapping Brienne’s knee eagerly.

Brienne’s cheeks turned fire-red for at least the third time that morning. She didn’t even know where to begin.

“Um, it happened…and it was good?” She looked around at her friends’ unimpressed faces, knowing she wasn’t going to get off that easy.

“Oh come on, you’re killing us! At least tell us how many times,” Renly prompted.

She covered her face with both hands, then removed one and held up three fingers. Her friends whooped obnoxiously, prompting a harsh shushing from Brienne. Tormund’s eyes shot to the rearview mirror, then back to the road.

“Three times, I’m impressed! But more importantly, how many times did you come?” Margaery asked matter-of-factly.

“Margaery!” Brienne hissed, cheeks flaming, but couldn’t rein in the huge smile spread across her face. She looked down at her lap, then held four fingers up. Sansa and Margaery both covered their mouths and screamed into their hands, and Renly bit his fist to prevent his yell from escaping. 

Sansa leaned in expectantly. “So, was I right? Is it big?”

Brienne wasn’t sure how Tormund would feel about his anatomy being the subject of a detailed conversation, so she just said vaguely, “I have no complaints.” 

“I knew it!” Sansa threw her arms around Brienne and smashed their cheeks together. “I’m so happy for you. Gods know you needed a good and proper dick-down.”

Brienne’s mouth dropped open and uttered an offended sound. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s not meant to be an insult, it’s just that you could stand to get a little wild every now and again. You know, just let go.”

Brienne gave her a side-eye and muttered, “Why does everyone keep saying that? Besides, I think I’ve let go a lot over the past day. On the bed, in the bathtub, in the shower…”

“Oooh, the shower! Sounds hot,” Renly said eagerly.

Brienne ignored the tingle in her lower belly while recalling their shower tryst. “It was. Very. But there’s something I need your help with.” She blushed and looked up through her eyelashes, practically whispering. “Dirty talk.”

Margaery looked at her with a mix of amusement and pity. “Awww, you can’t even say that without blushing! Oh, sweet Brienne. You are so lucky you have us.”

Sansa dramatically cleared her throat. As the resident expert on this topic, having suffered through several long-distance relationships, Brienne figured she’d be a font of knowledge.

“Men are simple creatures,” she began with the intonation of a college professor giving a lecture. “All they want to hear are three things: how good they make you feel, how big and/or hard they are, and especially what you want them to do to you. The last one is particularly effective if you’re nowhere near a bedroom. He’ll be practically ripping your clothes off by the time you get home.”

“Oh, and guys also love to know when you’re thinking about them, you know, _sexually_ ,” Renly offered, purring the last word in an exaggerated way.

“Yeah, so if you randomly get wet in the middle of the day fantasizing about him, tell him!” Margaery added.

Brienne screeched and buried her practically-purple face in her hands again, then raised her head and looked at her friends with gratitude. “Despite how incredibly embarrassed I am right now, this has actually been really helpful. So, thank you.”

“Brienne, this is literally the only thing we’re more knowledgeable about than you. Please continue asking us for advice so we can bask in this superiority for a little while,” Sansa said with a smile.

Halfway through the drive, Brienne’s exhaustion from the events of the night before finally began to take hold. She leaned her head against Sansa’s shoulder and drifted off into sleep, only waking when Tormund slowed the van to turn on to a bumpy road edged by scruffy trees and tall sea grass. Brienne’s heart soared as the road opened up onto the beach, and a never-ending expanse of dark blue water topped with whitecaps came into view. Although these gray, rocky cliffs were very different from the verdant hills of Tarth, a wave of nostalgia still rushed over her.

It also brought up a wealth of other conflicting emotions. It made her miss her mom and brother fiercely, and recall how she used to escape to the beach to cry in peace whenever the bullying and name-calling finally wore away at the unaffected front she put up. Now she could look back at those experiences as character-building, but her heart broke for that little girl who just wanted to be liked, to be accepted, to be normal.

Pulling her thoughts back to the present, Brienne looked once more out into the sea as Tormund pulled the van onto a flat stretch of sand and cut the engine. It occurred to her then that their trip was already more than half over – just two days on the coast, then they’d be heading back in the direction of Winterfell. Her heart dropped at the realization she’d be gone from here, and from Tormund, in just a few days. 

Trying not to think too deeply on it, she focused on her friends’ excited chatter about hiking the cliffs, kayaking, and the other activities they could do while here for the next two days. She really was looking forward to camping on the beach, something she and her dad did regularly when she was growing up. There was nothing like falling asleep to the sound of the waves and waking up to the first rays of the sun peeking over the water.

They piled out of the van and began setting up camp, driving long stakes into the sand to anchor their tents. Brienne collected dry driftwood and built a blazing fire in the stone fire ring, earning a smile and a nod of approval from Tormund that made her heart skip a beat. They arranged chairs around the fire while Alek rummaged in the cooler for dinner.

Instead of sitting down, Brienne removed her boots, rolled up her pant legs, and waded ankle-deep into the water. She gasped as the cold water prickled at her legs, but quickly acclimated to it and stepped father into the sea. Hands in her pockets, she closed her eyes and lifted her face to the sun, which was peeking through a haze of clouds low on the horizon, and took a deep inhale of the briny sea air.

The sound of the waves crashing beneath her feet lulled her into an almost hypnotic state until she felt a presence at her back. She knew instinctively who it was and leaned back slightly to press against Tormund’s body. He slipped an arm around her waist and laid his chin on her shoulder. “I’m not interrupting, am I?”

“No. Just thinking about home,” she said, exhaling heavily.

They stood there for a moment, Brienne enjoying the feeling of his solid warmth against her back and the cold water lapping at her legs. He turned his face toward hers, his beard prickling against the soft skin of her neck, sending a shiver up her spine. Her blood hummed at his closeness.

She turned without breaking the contact between their bodies and laced her fingers together behind his neck, pressing her lips to his. A juvenile “whoooo” rose from their friends behind them, causing her to smile and murmur “I hate them” against his mouth. He laughed and raised one of his hands in what Brienne guessed was a crude gesture before bringing it back to her waist. His tongue brushed her bottom lip ever so gently, sending a jolt of heat straight between her thighs. She pulled back and fixed him with a warning look. “Don’t start something you can’t finish,” she said under narrowed eyes.

“Who says I can’t finish it? We have a tent right over there,” he replied, giving her bottom lip a quick nip. His ability to heat her blood instantly was quite annoying.

Feeling suddenly mischievous, she pressed a kiss to his mouth while sliding her hands from his neck to his chest, then wrapped a long leg around the backs of his knees and gave him a hard shove. He tumbled over her leg into the cold water, gasping in shock before grabbing her by the ankle and attempting to pull her in with him. She screamed and wrenched her leg out of his grasp, splashing back to shore before crumpling into laughter.

“You’re going to pay for that,” Tormund warned, sloshing up to the shore and pointing his finger at her.

Brienne straightened and folded her arms in front of her. “I can’t wait to find out my punishment,” she challenged with a sly smile, wondering if this counted as dirty talk. Judging by the look that came over his face, it definitely did.

A few hours later, after Tormund had changed into dry clothes and they’d all enjoyed a dinner of sausage and peppers, they found themselves in a semi-circle around the fire, beers in hand, playing a rousing game of Never Have I Ever. Brienne usually hated these games, loath as she was to reveal any of her secrets, but she was actually enjoying learning more about Tormund through this one, making mental notes of the things he had and hadn’t done.

“Never have I ever had a one-night stand.” Margaery, Renly, Tormund and Alek drank.

“Never have I ever given or gotten head in a moving car.” Everyone except Brienne and Tormund drank. Tormund’s eyes glinted impishly as they met hers.

“Never have I ever made out with someone of the same sex.” Renly, Sansa and Margaery drank. Tormund and Alek looked at the girls and blurted out “With each other?” in unison. “No!” they both shrieked. The group dissolved into hysterics for a moment. “It was just college, you know?” Margaery said with a shrug.

Brienne was starting to feel like a prude. She finally got to drink when Sansa said, “Never have I ever had sex in a honeymoon suite.” She flushed and smiled appreciatively at her friend before taking a swig of her quickly-warming beer. She saw Tormund smirk out of the corner of her eye before he took a drink as well.

Margaery looked right at Brienne and said, “Never have I ever had sex in a tent.” Everyone, Margaery included, drank.   
  
“Oh, come on! That was a targeted attack!” Brienne exclaimed, arms crossed.

“I’m just trying to help you expand your horizons,” Margaery replied with a twitch of her mouth.

Speaking of horizons, the sun was starting to sink below it, washing the sky in blazes of bright gold and orange. Brienne looked over at Tormund, whose face looked positively boyish as he watched the sunset. When he turned his head and met her gaze, the childlike look flooded out of his eyes and was replaced with a dark glint that she couldn’t resist if she tried. Her heart sped up and breath became labored. Their eyes darted down to each other’s lips, which they were both moistening with the tips of their tongues. Brienne could feel her pupils dilating as she watched his pink tongue run along his bottom lip.

Their eyes met again, and without saying a word, they both shot up from their chairs and made their way quickly toward their tent. He shouted over his shoulder, “Ok guys! Hike tomorrow morning!” as he stumbled over his feet in his rush to get her alone. Brienne unzipped the tent and ducked inside, grabbing him by the shirt and pushing him down onto his back on the rolled out sleeping bags. Although it had been scarcely eight hours since he’d been inside her, she couldn’t wait one more moment to feel his skin on hers.

Brienne straddled him, crashing her mouth against his, plunging her tongue inside. He responded in kind, thrusting his hands into her shirt and running them up and down the sides of her body. She lifted up slightly to allow him to pull her shirt over her head, enjoying the appreciative sound he made when he realized she wasn’t wearing a bra. She hissed through her teeth when his hands cupped her breasts, thumbs rolling over her already-hard nipples and sending a spark of electricity between her legs. 

She coaxed him to sit up slightly so she could remove his shirt, then leaned her full weight on him, delighting in the feeling of his feverish skin against hers. His hands roamed up and down her back as their tongues thrust and slid against each other. She took his bottom lip in her teeth and pulled, prompting him to dig his fingertips into her back and press her closer. He gasped as her hips began rocking against his hardness, his muscles tensing beneath her.

They fumbled urgently to undo each other’s pants, sliding them down just enough to shove their hands in. Brienne wrapped her hand around his straining cock as his fingers plunged into her wetness, swallowing each other’s moans of relief. Tormund’s fingers expertly worked her to the brink, pumping in and out, thumb circling her swollen clit. Brienne’s head swam and sparks built up along her spine, but she stilled her hips and removed his hand from her pants.

“I’ve wanted you inside me all day,” she murmured into his ear, giving the base of his cock a squeeze for emphasis. The hungry look on his face intensified, lips parting slightly, eyes going black. “Condoms in my bag,” he growled, gesturing broadly to the right side of the tent. Without breaking contact between their bodies, she leaned over and rifled through the bag, coming up with a foil packet that she swiftly tore open and rolled down his cock. She lifted one leg to push her pants down, too consumed by her need to remove them completely, leaving them dangling off one ankle. Tormund’s fingers dug into her thighs as she raised herself just enough to fit her hand between them, then sunk down on his cock in one greedy motion.

Their simultaneous groan may or may not have been drowned out by the crashing of the waves outside their tent, but neither of them could be bothered to care. Brienne threw her head back as she luxuriated in the feeling of being stretched and filled completely. She only paused for a fraction of a second before she began to move urgently, tendrils of passion tightening through her body and threatening to snap.

Tormund thrust his hips up as she ground down on him, meeting her desperation with every sharp movement. Brienne leaned forward and dragged her tongue along his exposed throat, biting down on his shoulder to muffle her cries as she came closer to climax. His hands dug into her hips, slamming her down onto him, sending jolts of fire through her veins. “Yes,” she moaned in time to their movements. “Yes, yes.”

The feeling of him claiming her so roughly and urgently was all she needed to fly over the edge, stars appearing behind her eyelids, pulses and throbs of pleasure radiating through her body. She clenched around him and cried out into his shoulder as he jerked underneath her, muscles spasming through his own orgasm. They continued moving together until he growled her name in a warning tone and clamped her down with his strong hands.

Brienne rested her head on his chest and panted out sharp breaths onto his neck. Once their breathing returned to somewhat normal, he slid his hands from her hips, sure to have bruises tomorrow, and wrapped them low around her back. He turned his head and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, the contrast between the tender gesture and his needful carnality moments ago making her shiver.

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” he murmured into her ear as he softened inside her.

“No. I…liked it?” she replied, surprising even herself. Rough sex was not something she ever thought she’d be interested in, but the primal nature of it had turned her on in new and exciting ways.

Tormund raised an eyebrow. “So that’s two new things to check off the list?”

“I guess it is,” Brienne said with a lazy smile. “Now what else can we check off?”


	12. The Big Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut in every chapter from here on out. SORRY NOT SORRY

The din of waves crashing on the shore, combined with her relaxed post-orgasmic haze, had lulled Brienne to sleep early, so she wasn’t surprised when she woke just before the sun began to lighten the sky. Tormund was curled up behind her, his hand placed possessively on her hip, his breath tickling the back of her neck.

She thought back to the first morning she woke up in his tent, to how she’d been so reluctant to confront her desires that the feeling of his warmth at her back had sent her running out into the woods to take care of herself. It felt like another lifetime, another version of herself.

Before falling asleep last night, they’d zipped their sleeping bags together, so he was pressed tightly and warmly against her with only their pajamas separating them. Tormund, ever the responsible guide, had insisted they get dressed before going to bed in case they had to make a quick exit for whatever reason. She lamented that fact now, wishing she could feel his skin on hers as she pulled his hand from her hip around to cup her breast and arched into him.

He made a small noise in between a grunt and a hum, and grazed the back of her neck with his nose. She turned her head to allow him access to the side of her throat, his mouth opening to swirl his tongue in a circle on her sensitive flesh. His teeth bit down gently on her skin, sending a shudder through her already-tingling body, and began pinching and pulling the hard bud of her nipple. He hissed into her ear and pushed his hardening cock against her when her hand moved to the outside of his leg, dragging her nails from knee to hip.

Tormund’s hand slid inside her shirt and back up to her breast, the sensation of his skin finally meeting hers causing a moan to fly from her lips. She continued to rock her hips back into him, desperate to relieve some of the tension building up steadily inside her. As if reading her mind, he moved his hand down her belly and into the waistband of her pants. Finding that she was dripping wet already, he groaned as his fingers dipped into the heat between her legs.

Brienne lifted one leg to grant him easier access and clawed into his hip as his fingers alternated between sliding in and out and circling her swollen clit. He continued sucking and nipping at her neck, sending jolts of electricity down her body, her breaths coming quick and ragged. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she shoved her hand behind her and into the waistband of his shorts and took his stiff cock in hand, pumping it just once, a strangled noise emanating from his throat.

He slid his fingers out of her and fumbled to pull her pants and underwear down, then did the same to his own. She pushed her hips back to slide her sensitive folds up and down his shaft, teasing herself as much as him – she needed him inside her desperately, hungrily. He positioned himself at her entrance, hesitating, before she turned her head and practically begged, “Fuck me, Tormund.”

He growled into her ear and slid into her, the fronts of his thighs pressed tightly to the backs of hers, his hand pressing into the curve of her waist. His cock pushed a loud moan out of her, her inner walls squeezing around him, throbbing with want. Her hips began moving of their own volition, pushing back on to him, urging him deeper.

“Gods, Brienne, what you do to me,” Tormund mumbled into her ear, each word a pulse of lightning through her body. Colors exploded behind her eyes as he thrust in and out, the world fading away to nothing but the pleasure they provided each other. His hand roved from her breast, pinching and rolling the pebbled nipple, down to press gently but firmly on the supremely sensitive button just above where he entered her.

“Tormund,” she whimpered. “It feels so good. Please don’t stop.” He groaned at her words and thrust deeper, yet slower, torturing her with his deliberate movements. This angle brushed a secret spot inside her she didn’t know existed, and within a few strokes, the tension coiling low in her belly was released in a violent tremor. She clenched tightly around his cock, her fingers digging hard into his hip, and she brought her other hand up to her mouth to muffle the loud cry she couldn’t stop from releasing.

Tormund’s thrusts quickened and stuttered, and he pulled out as soon as her climax began to recede. A wet warmth hit her lower back, and she barely registered him muttering “Sorry” through her haze. Brienne exerted her last ounce of energy to roll onto her stomach, her body feeling utterly boneless and wrung out after her powerful orgasm. She was amazed that every time with Tormund introduced her to a new sensation, a new level of pleasure, and wondered how it could possibly get better.

Her head emerged from the fog in which it was swimming when she felt a soft friction against her back. Tormund had retrieved a towel from his bag and was kneeling next to her, cleaning her off gently. She looked up at him through half-closed eyelids and gave him a lazy smile. He returned it before quietly pronouncing, “Even though we were half asleep, we should probably be more careful.”

“I’m on birth control, and I’ve been tested. I’m clean,” she replied, opening one eye to glance at his face.

His eyebrow twitched upward. “Me too. Well, I’m not on birth control, but I would be if I could…now that I think of it, why is there no birth control for men? It’s really unfair that it’s all on the woman to prevent pregnancy…”

She chuckled. “Tormund, I agree, but it’s too early for this discussion. Come lay down.” She patted the sleeping bag next to her, and he slid back in and pressed himself firmly against her side.

“I hope you know,” he muttered as he ran his fingers through the hair at the nape of her neck, “That you have completely ruined me for regular alarm clocks.” She blushed and smothered a laugh with her pillow before turning and pressing a prolonged kiss to his lips. She pulled away and bit her own lower lip, her eyes still on his swollen mouth.

“Oh no you don’t. You cannot look at me like that when you know I have to get up. Evil temptress,” he snarled as he enveloped her in his arms, planted a kiss on her forehead, and wriggled out of the sleeping bag. Brienne whined melodramatically at the loss of his heat next to her before reluctantly sitting up to watch him pull on a t-shirt and the gray sweatpants she’d become especially fond of. He threw her a wink as he unzipped the tent and stepped out to start breakfast.

Brienne laid back on her pillow and sighed heavily. She closed her eyes, sucked in a big breath of salty sea air and listened to the waves until she heard the sounds of other people rustling around in their tents. She told herself once again to forget about how their time there was coming to an end and to enjoy what they had left. She got up, dressed quickly, and made her way to the fire.

Tormund puttered around the fire while the bacon and eggs fried in a skillet. Brienne watched her friends stumble, bleary-eyed, out of their tents and flop down in the chairs around the fire. Sansa immediately leaned over to her and said, “You look like you had a good night…and morning,” raising one eyebrow and smirking. Brienne’s cheeks went red-hot at the thought of her friends hearing her, but then remembered that they had encouraged, if not forced her hand in the matter. She looked at Sansa and allowed her smile to spread across her entire face, prompting a chuckle from Sansa. “Good for you,” she said sincerely and turned her attention back to the fire.

After breakfast, Tormund explained that the hike they’d be doing today was a four-mile loop with “a few surprises,” so they were to wear their swimsuits. They climbed into the van for the half-hour drive inland to the trailhead. Brienne watched as the forest flying past her window began to take on a mystical quality, the trees becoming denser and greener, fog hanging over the ground in clumps like fallen clouds. She was reminded again how little she was looking forward to returning to the concrete, unsavory smells and cacophony of King’s Landing.

Tormund pulled into a small parking area at the trailhead and led the group into the woods. The path was wide and flat, but slippery from the constant condensation hanging about. They picked their way down the trail, using tree roots and stones as footholds, until they began to hear the sound of rushing water. Tormund ushered them off the main trail onto a smaller side path that opened up onto a rocky outcropping. Just below the rocks, a waterfall roared over a cliff into a small pool that bubbled and frothed.

The group lined up on the outcropping and gazed at the waterfall, not speaking but making occasional noises of appreciation and awe. Brienne turned her head to look at her friends’ faces, once again overcome with emotion and gratitude for this place, and for them. She faced the waterfall once again before Tormund announced that there were more surprises ahead, and that they should get back on the path. They filed out and back onto the main trail, which had become even more slippery the closer it got to the water. Tormund called out to be careful as they made their way to the turnaround.

 A mile later, Tormund led them off the path and down a steep hill, using fallen branches and roots to ease themselves down, until they came to the foot of another waterfall. This one was more of a gentle cascade down the rocks, opening up into a large, placid pool of cool, crystal-clear water. The rocks were flat and dry leading into the pool, making for a perfect entrance. Tormund turned to them, arms outstretched, and exclaimed, “Let’s swim!” He tore his shirt off, kicked off his boots and ran splashing into the water, submerging himself fully and coming back up with a shout. “It’s a little cold at first but it feels great!”

The others laughed and stripped off their outer layers more slowly, wading into the pool little by little to acclimate themselves to the cold water. Renly gracefully dove head-first into the water, followed by Sansa, Margaery and Alek. Brienne elected to float on her back, sucking in a sharp breath as the cold water washed over her.

She floated for a while, the sounds of her friends splashing and swimming passing through the water and arriving muffled into her ears. She didn’t even notice Tormund swim up to her until she felt one of his warm hands under her back and the other under her thigh. She closed her eyes and sighed as he twirled her around slowly. “This was a good surprise,” she said, eyes still closed, enjoying the relaxing movement through the water.

“I’m glad you think so, but it was really just an excuse to see you in a swimsuit again.”

She opened one eye. “You’ve seen me in much less, did you forget?”

“Oh, that image will be seared into my memory forever. But I like to see you out in the open too.” He leered at her and smirked mischievously. She splashed him, then was surprised at his strength as he lifted her up and unceremoniously dumped her onto her face in the water. She emerged and glared at Tormund with a fierce look in her eye. “I’m going to get you back for that,” she said as she swam past him to her friends.

“What is it you said last night? ‘I can’t wait to find out my punishment?’ I’m beginning to like this game,” Tormund teased.

They swam and splashed like kids for a little while longer. Margaery shocked everyone by fearlessly climbing up to a high rock and jumping in, while Tormund found an old rope swing and made Tarzan sounds as he swung over the pool and did cannonballs into the water. They finally climbed out when their lips started to turn blue, then dressed and made their way back to the main trail.

Brienne followed behind Tormund, with Sansa, Renly and Margaery in the middle, and Alek bringing up the rear as usual to ensure no one lagged behind. The group shifted between inconsequential chattering, with Tormund occasionally pointing out an interesting type of tree or bird or insect, and companionable silence. It was during one of these lulls in conversation that Brienne heard a thump, a crack, and a wail from the back of the pack.

Brienne stopped in her tracks and whipped around to see Margaery on the ground, clutching her leg to her body, foot flapping at an unnatural angle. Brienne felt the color drain out of her face and rushed to kneel beside her friend. “Margaery, what happened?” she asked, placing her hand gently on the other woman’s shoulder.

“I stepped on a root and it was slipperier than I thought and I fell and my ankle…” Margaery’s words came out in a jumble between gasps and whimpers. Tormund was beside her in a flash, unlacing her boot with an almost shocking gentleness. Margaery hissed quietly when he slid it off her foot along with her sock. The bone had not broken through the skin, thankfully, but her ankle was already swollen to double its normal size. Brienne could see the blood pooling just under her skin, promising a massive bruise in a few days.

“It’s definitely sprained, if not broken. We’ll have to get you to a hospital soon,” Tormund said, looking at Margaery with concern, holding up her leg to take any strain off.

“Where is the nearest hospital?” Brienne asked him.

He met her eyes and paused for a moment, as if he dreaded answering her question. “Winterfell.”

“WINTERFELL?!” wailed Margaery, despondent. “There has to be something closer! My clumsiness cannot be the reason this trip is cut short!” She was nearly crying now, not with pain but with disappointment.

Tormund shook his head slightly. “I’m sorry, Margaery, but the mountain towns between here and there can barely be counted as ‘towns,’ so there is not a closer hospital. And we can’t wait to get that ankle looked at.” Tormund spoke to her firmly, yet tenderly, causing Margaery to nod weakly in resignation. She sniffed and took his outstretched hand, levering herself up on her one good leg before Tormund lifted her into his arms like she weighed nothing.

He continued talking as he carried her down the trail. “Instead of taking the long way back and stopping in between, we’ll just drive straight to Winterfell tonight. It’s only a few hours – we’ll get you something for the pain before the drive.”

Brienne’s thoughts whirled between concern for Margaery, disappointment that their trip was going to be cut even shorter, and an utterly ill-timed lust at watching Tormund care for her upset friend, his back muscles straining against his T-shirt as he carried her like a small child.

The rest of the hike passed in relative silence, everyone focusing on getting back to camp as soon as possible to get Margaery to a hospital. They all breathed a sigh of relief when they arrived back at the van without incident, piling in quickly and helping Margaery into the front seat. Back at camp, they packed up promptly and rather inefficiently, shoving things haphazardly into the back of the van rather than putting everything in its place as they had been. Brienne thought sadly that this was the last time they would pack up, so it didn’t really matter.

They talked logistics on the way back to Winterfell. Once they reached civilization, Alek would take Margaery to the hospital while the others called the airline to see how soon they could get flights back to King’s Landing, then book rooms at the Winterfell Inn if need be. Brienne gazed out the window, not adding much to the conversation. Appropriately, a hard rain began to fall halfway through their drive, mirroring the gloom overtaking Brienne.

She knew she shouldn’t feel so dramatic about leaving a man she just met a week ago, but the reality of possibly never seeing him again was starting to sink in. However short their time together, it had fundamentally changed her, and the thought of going on with her life as if he’d never been in it filled her with a strange dread.

She must have dozed off at some point, because she woke up to Renly shaking her gently when they pulled into the hospital parking lot. The rain had stopped, so Alek carried Margaery in to the emergency room while the others climbed out of the van to stretch their legs and check their phones.

Sansa was the first to call and rebook her plane ticket. “They have a flight to King’s Landing with a few empty seats tomorrow afternoon,” she relayed to the group while on hold. While Renly called, Tormund took Brienne’s elbow and pulled her aside. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at the ground. Brienne puzzled over this, having never seen him look anything close to sheepish in the time she’d known him.

He cleared his throat. “You know, I do have my own apartment in Winterfell. You don’t have to change your flight, if you don’t want to. You could…stay here. With me.” Keeping his head down, he raised his eyes to meet hers and twitched his eyebrows questioningly.

Brienne’s brow furrowed. “You want me to stay with you? Don’t you have…things to do?” She wasn’t sure why she was trying to talk him out of it – of course she wanted to stay, but maybe she thought it was just prolonging the inevitable.

“I’m scheduled to be on this tour for the next six days. So, no, I don’t really have things to do. Besides you.” He waggled his eyebrows and smiled impishly. Ah, there was the Tormund she knew. “And if you get sick of me, you can book a new flight at any time. I’m not forcing you. I just…don’t want you to leave yet.”

His sincerity stirred something in her chest. It did make sense for her to keep her original flight and avoid having to pay for rebooking, and the thought of five unscheduled days with Tormund excited her. She placed her hand tenderly on his elbow. “I’ll stay. I just need to make sure my friends are ok with that.” A broad grin spread over his face, and she returned his smile before following his eyes to the entrance of the hospital. Margaery, ankle wrapped, hobbled out on crutches, Alek trailing along.

Brienne and the others rushed to her. “It’s broken,” she said before they could ask. “Rest, ice, compression and elevation until we go home tomorrow. Then I have to go to an orthopedist to get a real cast.” The corners of her mouth turned downward and she looked at Brienne almost apologetically.

“Could you excuse us for a minute, guys?” Brienne asked Tormund and Alek, and they dutifully moved out of the circle to give them some space.

“So…Tormund asked me to stay here with him, but I know this trip was supposed to be about us,” she gestured at her friends around the circle, “so I don’t want to unless you all are okay with it.”

Margaery cocked her head. “Bri, I’m going to be laid up for at least a couple of weeks, and I’m going to force Sansa and Renly to hang out with me so I don’t go out of my mind with boredom. We will survive without you for a week.”

“And as much as I love you…I’m REALLY looking forward to sleeping indoors again,” Renly said with a smirk.

“And I’m REALLY looking forward to getting back to Sandor,” Sansa added.

Margaery clutched her forearm. “Stay. Have fun. And tell us all about it when you get back.”

Brienne smiled broadly at her friends before gathering them all up for a group hug. “I love you guys. Thank you for coming here with me. Even if it didn’t turn out the way we wanted.”

“Brienne, the whole reason we came here was to help you get over Jaime. I think it’s safe to say we’ve accomplished our goal,” Sansa smirked as she looked over at Tormund, who was staring besottedly at Brienne. She blushed furiously and extricated herself from the group to make her way over to him.

“I’m staying,” she told him, and he scooped her up in his arms and spun her around as if she were a much daintier woman. He set her down with a laugh and pressed a wet, warm kiss to her lips. She resisted the ever-present urge to deepen the kiss and pulled away, returning to her friends, who were on the phone with the hotel.

“I’m assuming you don’t need a hotel room for tonight?” Sansa asked with a glint in her eyes.

Brienne blushed and shook her head. After the rooms were booked, they got back into the van and drove to the hotel.

Brienne helped her friends get their bags from the back of the van, then enveloped them one by one in crushing hugs. “I’ll see you all in a week. Sansa, Renly, make sure Margaery stays off that foot.”

“Yes, mother,” Renly retorted with a smile.

“Have fun, be safe. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Margaery said with a wink before turning and hobbling into the hotel. Brienne watched them until they disappeared into the lobby, then turned to Tormund to find he was already looking at her and smiling, a big, goofy thing that she couldn’t help but return.

Tormund pulled her body to his. “We’re alone.”

“We’re in a hotel parking lot.”

“We can be somewhere much more private in a few minutes.”

“Well why are we standing here then?”

Tormund let out a low growl and let Brienne go to open her door, then ran around the van and jumped in the driver’s seat.

“I’m glad you’re staying,” he said sincerely, grabbing her hand and kissing the back of it.

“Me too.” She left her fingers interlaced with his and settled into her seat, feeling relaxed and ready for whatever the week had in store.


	13. Tormund's Town

Tormund’s apartment was located in downtown Winterfell, above a hardware store and right down the street, Brienne noted with amusement, from the She-Wolf. He parked the van on the street and led her to an unassuming door between two storefronts, then up a flight of stairs to his door. He unlocked it and swung it open, waving her inside.

His apartment was close to what she’d expected: small, reasonably tidy, but slightly neglected, like it was only lived in for a fraction of the year (because it was). Mail piled up on the dining table, and boxes of outdoor gear, some open and some unopened, crowded in the corners. A pair of skis leaned against one wall, and a mountain bike hung from hooks on the ceiling.

She only got a few steps in, however, before Tormund fixed her with dark eyes and stepped toward her until her back was against the door. His thumbs slipped under her shirt and rubbed lightly against the skin of her hips, his breath warm against her neck. “What about the grand tour?” she questioned as she ran her hands up his chest and intertwined her fingers in his hair.

“The grand tour can wait,” he growled before his tongue flicked out against her earlobe. Her body thrummed with anticipation as he kissed down her neck while his hands roamed under her shirt. His thumbs just grazed the underside of her breasts, sending a jolt of electricity through her and prompting a quiet gasp. She arched into him and his hands swept around to the bottom of her ass, squeezing firmly and pulling her hips closer, his arousal extremely evident.

Her thoughts flashed back to the first night they met, against the door of the She-Wolf bathroom, and how this gesture had sent her fleeing. Now, it made her crazy with want, knowing she was the one to have this effect on him. Her leg crept up his side to hook around his upper thigh, bringing his hardness ever closer to where she needed it. She yelped in surprise when he brought his hands under her thighs and lifted both of her legs, all her weight now in his arms, and took a few steps away from the door.

“Tormund! You can’t…I’m too big…”

“You really think I can’t carry you to bed?” he growled, a flash of indignation in his voice. “What do you think I am, some southern weakling?”

She laughed into his shoulder and allowed herself to be carried, probably for the first time since she was four. Tormund kicked his bedroom door open with his foot and flung her onto the blue patchwork quilt covering the bed. He climbed on top of her and settled most of his weight down, the press of him against her front and the softness of the mattress underneath her back feeling so incredibly right.

She reached up and took his face in her hands, pulling him down for a slow, open-mouthed kiss, tongues languidly meeting each other in a dance they both knew well now. Brienne knew Tormund went wild when she sucked his bottom lip into her mouth and bit gently, and he knew she squirmed a little more when he pulled away and flicked his tongue agonizingly lightly over her lips.

With nowhere to be and no one else to attend to, they kissed and touched for what felt like hours, hands unhurriedly exploring each other’s bodies over, and eventually under, their clothes. This was new – their other experiences together had been feverish, urgent, racing toward their climaxes wild with lust.

Oh, no doubt she ached to feel him inside her again, but this casual perusal of each other’s mouths and bodies with no agenda felt easy and indulgent and just plain _delicious_. Not to mention, the slow pace with which Tormund lavished his attention caused her arousal to build higher and deeper than ever before, promising an absolutely shattering orgasm when it finally came around.

When Brienne’s legs made their way around his waist and Tormund began lazily thrusting his hardness against her, she decided it was high time to move toward that moment. She divested him of his shirt and lifted her upper body so he could do the same. She scratched her nails up and down his stomach and chest, feeling as much as hearing the guttural moan that rumbled from him.

He kissed, sucked and nipped down her neck, pausing to concentrate on an especially sensitive spot on her collarbone, before turning his attention to her nipples. But instead of taking one into his mouth like she urgently wanted him to, he merely breathed warm air on it, then blew cool air, then grazed his mouth excruciatingly lightly across her chest to do the same to the other. She arched toward his face, hands fisted in the quilt, desperate for more, but he pulled back, smirked at her and shook his head. “Patience,” he scolded lightly.

He continued his path down toward her waist, lightly grazing his mouth over her skin, his breath sending shivers up and down her spine. He unbuttoned her pants and pulled them off along with her underwear, kneeling in front of the bed with her legs hanging off. Her whole body pulsated with want, feeling the wetness build as Tormund dragged his fingertips over her ankles, calves, and thighs. He trailed agonizingly light kisses on her inner thighs before settling between them and brushing his beard against her dark blonde curls.

Just when she thought the throbbing between her legs might actually kill her, he finally darted his tongue out onto her swollen clit. Just one pass of his tongue was enough to have her shrieking and arching up off the bed, and the second one shocked her thoroughly by making her come with a sudden explosion. She clutched her hands in Tormund’s hair and shouted a startled _oh!_ and bucked her hips up at his face, the pulses of ecstasy rolling over her like breaking waves.

Once she began to slacken, Tormund’s head shot up. “Did you…”

Her eyes were still wide, mouth hanging partially open. “Yeah. I was not expecting that.”

He grinned and crawled up the bed to her. His chest hair tickled her sensitive nipples when he settled his weight on top of her. She loved how, just like she felt she didn’t need to hold back any of her strength with him, he didn’t treat her like some breakable little figurine. “I don’t know about you, but that’s a record for me.”

She blushed and chuckled into his shoulder. “Oh, me too.” She reached between them and palmed his cock through his pants. “Is it your turn now?” He was harder than she’d ever felt him, and she pondered whether she should make him exercise patience like he had just done to her, or if she should see just how fast she could make him come. He groaned softly and nipped at her neck while thrusting into her hand. The building ache between her thighs made her decision for her.

She covered his mouth with hers and licked lightly at his tongue while unbuttoning his pants and pulling them along with his underwear down over his hips. He hissed when she grazed the tip of his cock with her hand, then moaned when she stroked up and down his hard length. She rolled them over easily and sat up straight on his hips, moving his hands up to her breasts while she reached down to guide him inside her.

She moaned as she sat on his cock, reveling in the feeling of being filled completely. Tormund’s hands tightened on her breasts, the twinge of pain sending a tingle through her, a look of pure bliss on his face. She rolled her hips back and forth, provoking gasps from both of them, before leaning over to lick and suck at the tender skin of his neck. His hands moved to her hips, where they gripped tightly as she moved on top of him.

He sat up straight and bit at her bottom lip before flipping them over, urging her legs high around his waist. This give and take of power and dominance was intoxicating, unlike anything she’d ever felt before. Tension coiled throughout her body as his cock pounded a spot that made her vision blur. He was breathing raggedly now, a huff of air escaping with each thrust.

She felt herself moving closer to the edge and wanted to take him with her, so she whispered in his ear, “ _Come inside me, Tormund_.” She dug her heels into his ass to spur him on. A strangled noise emanated from the back of his throat, and just as the ripples of ecstasy began pulsing through her, he jerked his hips wildly and trembled above her. Her inner walls clenched around him, wringing him dry. Her fingernails marked his back with red half-moons, her moans stifled into his shoulder.

Tormund spilled into her with a loud moan and one last hard pump of his hips, then slackened on top of her. Brienne panted, her limbs going limp as her breathing returned to normal. One of his hands slid behind her neck, pulling her head up gently and kissing her long and slow. When they parted, she looked into his sea green eyes through her own heavy lids and smiled. “You are incredible,” she purred, grazing her hand up and down his spine, making him shiver.

He rolled off of her and buried his head in her neck. As her senses slowly returned to her, she wondered idly if this was what sex was like for most people. If it was, how did anyone get anything done? Even though it was early afternoon, she could easily fall asleep for a few hours, relaxed as she was. But always there in the back of her mind was that unpleasant thought that her time left with Tormund was quickly ticking away.

She forced herself to roll off the bed and collect her clothing, much to Tormund’s chagrin. He groaned dramatically and stretched his arm over the warm spot she’d just vacated. “Come on,” she urged as she grabbed his wrist and attempted to pull him up and out of the bed, barely budging his solid frame. “You still owe me a tour.”

“Alright, alright,” he grumbled, hopping on one foot as he pulled his pants on. He kissed her, just a shade away from indecent, and took her hand to lead her into the living room. Tormund’s apartment consisted of a combined living and dining room, a galley kitchen, one bedroom and one bathroom. In the living room sat a mismatched sofa, loveseat, and coffee table. Hanging plants hung from the ceiling in front of the window that looked out over Winterfell’s main street. A TV was mounted on the wall surrounded by built-in bookshelves crammed with books and picture frames. The books were mostly nonfiction, leaning heavily toward the history and mythology of the North. “History buff, huh?” she asked as she ran her fingers along the spines.

“Yeah, I’ve always liked history. It adds a little something extra to the tours too. You remember the dragon story at the baths.” He winked, causing a red flush to creep up from her neck at the memory.

She studied the pictures in the frames – one was obviously of Tormund and his mother, a short, round woman with his same fiery red hair and a smile that took up nearly her whole face. There was one of Tormund on a beach with four redheaded women of varying heights and sizes, their arms around each other and faces beaming. Another showed Tormund posing with a group of shaggy young men on the summit of a mountain. And the biggest one featured five little girls, three with pale skin, red hair and freckles, and two with black curly hair and caramel-colored skin. She picked it up and turned it toward him with a questioning look.

His face lit up so bright she nearly had to shield her eyes. “My nieces.” He pointed to each one in turn. “Ingrid and Sara belong to my sister Mathilde, Hanna belongs to my sister Astrid, and Ayana and Nia are my sister Britta’s. Aren’t they beautiful?” Her heart squeezed as she watched him look at the picture, pure love radiating from his eyes. “They are,” she smiled softly before replacing it on the shelf.

They walked over to the dining table, covered as it was with mail and deliveries, when a large envelope caught her eye. She read the return address out loud. “North Westeros University?”

Tormund’s chest puffed up adorably. “Yep. I’m starting my business degree in the fall. I figure if I’m going to own my own tour company, I should probably know how a business works. Plus, it’s always disappointed my mom that I didn’t go to college. I think she’s more excited than I am about it.”

Brienne smiled at his obvious pride. “I’m happy for you. You’re going to do great.”

He showed her the kitchen and the bathroom, which was across the tiny hall from the bedroom. She walked into the bedroom again, turning around to take in everything she’d missed the first time she was in here. The bed, of course, but also a small desk and another full bookshelf. There were several canvases hung on the wall with acrylic paintings of nature scenes, most of which looked to be from the North. She took a closer look at one. “These are beautiful,” she commented, noting the vivid colors and detailed brushwork.

“My sister Katrin is an artist. Those are some of her early works, but she’s in galleries all over the area now,” he said proudly.

“Your family is really close, huh?”

“We are now. I had to do some growing up before I realized how lucky I am to have them.”

Brienne thought again of Galladon. “You are. I’m glad you know that.”

He smiled softly at her and took her hand, guiding her out into the living room. “Come on,” he exclaimed, “I want to show you the rest of Winterfell. It’s not a lot, but it’s home.”

They walked out of the apartment and on to the street. Tormund grabbed her hand immediately after stepping onto the sidewalk, startling Brienne for a moment at just how proud he looked to be seen with her. She couldn’t help but hold her head a little higher with him walking by her side.

While they strolled hand-in-hand down the little main street, Tormund pointed out the toy shop he used to beg his mother to take him to, the trading post where he had his first job, the gallery that displayed Katrin’s art. Brienne popped her head into a women’s clothing boutique and made a mental note of the selection of lingerie in the back corner. They went into the outdoor store, where Tormund was on a first-name basis with everyone, and bought a nice bottle from the wine shop for dinner.

They made their way to the market for ingredients for the aforementioned dinner. Tormund had been a good cook in the woods with only a campfire and a cast-iron pan, so Brienne was very much looking forward to seeing what he could do with a full kitchen. He pointed her toward the bakery section and asked her to pick out a dessert while he collected his ingredients. She took a deep inhale of the sweet scents of sugar, butter and cinnamon while perusing the offerings, finally settling on a tray of chocolate-frosted brownies.

They met back up at the checkout counter and made their purchases, then walked leisurely back to Tormund’s apartment, chatting all the way about what kind of plans they should make for the next few days. Tormund suggested staying in bed the whole time with a lascivious grin, but Brienne laughed it off and told him she’d like to do a little more hiking and sightseeing, this being her first time in the North.

“Hopefully not your last,” he said breezily as he swung their clasped hands.

Brienne forced a smile, but her insides twisted.

As much as she dreaded it, they would need to have a talk…soon.


	14. Something New

Brienne lounged on Tormund’s couch while he toiled in the kitchen, having been shooed out when she asked if she could help. She knew from looking at the ingredients that it was something Italian – she spied fresh pasta, tomatoes, basil, garlic, mozzarella, and a loaf of crusty bread – and her stomach grumbled in anticipation. While she waited, she turned the TV on and flipped through the channels, settling on a news show since she had no idea what had happened in the outside world in the last week. She half-paid attention to the TV while peeking over at Tormund, who was deep in concentration over the cutting board.

She must have dozed off due to the long day they’d had, because the next thing she knew, she was being shaken awake gently by Tormund. “Hey, sleepyhead. Dinner’s ready,” he said with a soft smile. She stretched and got up off the couch, taking a deep inhale of the delicious scents coming from the kitchen. Tormund had set the table for two and plated up pasta with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella, and slices of bread he’d toasted in the oven and rubbed with garlic. He’d also poured them both glasses of wine and even set a lit candle in the middle of the table.  

She grinned at him. “You didn’t have to go through all this trouble for me.”

“There’s a beautiful woman in my apartment. Why wouldn’t I want to pull out all the stops?”

Brienne looked around exaggeratedly, as if searching for this beautiful woman he was referring to. Tormund shot her a warning look and guided her to the table, pulling her chair out for her, then sitting in the one opposite. He lifted his glass and she did the same, clinking them together and drinking, their eyes never leaving each other.

She twisted the pasta on her fork and lifted it to her mouth, closing her eyes as the flavors hit her tongue. “Mmmmm,” she moaned, practically melting into her chair. “This is so good. Where did you learn to cook?”

He chuckled. “Don’t let that fool you – I only really know how to cook over a campfire. My sister told me a long time ago that I needed to know how to make one thing really well in order to impress girls, so I grabbed one of my mom’s cookbooks and flipped it open to this,” he gestured to his plate with his fork.

Brienne laughed through a mouthful of pasta. She swallowed and took a sip of her wine. “Well, count me as one of the many impressed.”

Tormund looked affronted. “Not _that_ many.”

They laughed some more as they finished their meal, then finished the bottle of wine. Brienne’s face was warm and head was hazy when she popped the last bite of brownie in her mouth, then slumped in her chair, utterly satisfied.

Tormund leaned over the table toward her, his eyes glinting in the candlelight. “Well, what do you want to do now? Do you want to watch a movie? A little Westflix and chill?” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Brienne’s eyes lingered on his muscled forearms and large, masculine hands in the low light as he leaned on the table. As much as he made her blood run hot, the insistent twinge of pain between her thighs inhibited her more carnal thoughts. She blushed as she said, “Westflix sounds great, but can we take a raincheck on the ‘chill’? I’m a little sore…a lot sore actually.”

A look of concern flashed over Tormund’s face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…”

“No, don’t be sorry! I’m just not used to this much…activity,” she said with another blush.

Tormund rose from his chair and walked over to hers, holding out his hand. She took it and got to her feet, allowing him to lead her to the couch. As soon as they sat, he gave her the remote, swung her legs up onto his lap, and started massaging her feet. She forgot about picking a movie and let her head fall back and eyes close. Tormund chuckled softly but continued to rub her feet, applying just the right amount of pressure to just the right places.

After a few minutes, she reluctantly opened her eyes and began to flip through the Westflix titles. She was unsurprised to find that Tormund’s history consisted of a lot of action and sci-fi movies, but her eyebrows shot up when she came across a few romantic comedies and period dramas. She settled on _The Bear and the Knights_ , even though they’d apparently both seen it, and laid back onto a throw pillow. She didn’t realize until then what a long day it had been, and her eyelids grew heavy only a few minutes into the movie.

Brienne woke to Tormund’s hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently and whispering her name. She opened her eyes and looked over at the credits rolling on the TV. “Sorry,” she mumbled as she sat up and rubbed her eyes. “I didn’t realize how tired I was until I laid down.”

“It’s ok. We did have a pretty exciting day. Come on, let’s go to bed.” He offered his hand again, and she took it and followed him to the bedroom.

Too tired to even change into pajamas, Brienne simply removed her pants and fell face first into the bed in her shirt and underwear. She heard Tormund chuckling and felt him settle into bed beside her and pull the covers over them. He flung one of his arms low around her back and curled around her. “Good night, Brienne,” he said softly as he kissed her shoulder. She hummed and smiled, then drifted easily off to sleep.

Brienne woke the next morning to a hand stroking gently up and down her spine. Her eyelids fluttered open, and for a moment, she forgot where she was. Then it came flooding back – Margaery’s broken ankle. Their abbreviated trip. Tormund’s apartment for the next five days. She rolled over and buried her face in his bare chest, splaying her hands against his warm skin. His arms wrapped tightly around her, pressing her even more fully against him, and she felt his morning arousal hard and hot between them.

That pesky fluttering ache between her thighs started up again, and she stretched along his body, pushing her hips against his. He hummed and moved his hands down her back, cupping her ass cheeks and squeezing gently. “Are you still sore?” he asked as her tongue grazed his neck and jaw. She was already wet and getting more so with each stroke of Tormund’s hands on her skin. “Kind of…but I don’t care. Just be gentle.”

“I can do gentle.” He pulled her underwear down past her hips while she stuck her hand down the front of his boxer briefs and wrapped her hand around his hard length. Their breathing became heavier in unison, Tormund’s fingers slipping slowly between her folds and Brienne’s hand squeezing and stroking him.

When her need built to the point of desperation, she pulled his underwear down and rolled on top of him, reaching down to position him at her entrance. She moved her hips back and he slid into her, slowly, eliciting a gasp from both of them. Brienne laid her chest on his and buried her face in the juncture of his neck and shoulder as she rocked her hips gently. Tormund allowed her to take him at her leisure, keeping his hips mostly still while she undulated on top of him.

Brienne basked in the feel of his skin against hers and the easy, sensual pace of their movements. Their bodies fit together so well, almost like they were made for each other. Tormund swept his hands up and down every inch of skin he could find, intensifying her pleasure. She began moving faster, chasing down her release, and came with a shudder on top of him. He fucked her through her climax and moaned into her ear as his own shook through his body.

Brienne laid there, limp and satisfied, until Tormund was fully soft inside her. She slipped off of him and rolled onto her side, throwing one leg and one arm over him. He nuzzled his nose into her hair and planted a kiss on her temple. “What do you want to do today? Personally, I could do _this_ all day…but I know you want to get out and see things,” he said with a mocking disdainfulness. 

She thought about the hike at Mount Catelyn, where she opened up to him in a way she never had with any other person. “Are there any good hikes around here?”

“Of COURSE there are good hikes around here. I know these hills like the back of my hand. My friends and I used to run around playing wildlings and wights all day. We wouldn’t come home until it got too dark to see in the woods.”

She smiled at the thought of little red-haired Tormund running wild in the forest. “Sounds good. This bed will still be here when we get back.” She shot him what she hoped was a flirty look before rolling out of bed to change. 

 

* * *

 

The next four days flew by in a blur. Their time was divided between sightseeing, outdoor activities, lounging on the couch watching movies and TV, and sex _. A lot_ of sex.

There was something about Tormund that made Brienne feel totally uninhibited. Enough to unzip his fly, lean over and take him in her mouth while he was driving along a wooded road back from a hike. Enough to purchase lingerie at the boutique down the street while he was at the office doing paperwork and wait for him in only her new black mesh bra and panties. He didn’t even bother taking them off, just pushed them to the side and fucked her right there on the floor in front of the door. Enough to have only watched the first 10 minutes of multiple movies and TV shows because she always ended up straddling him on the couch, her legs wrapped around his waist as he slammed her hips down onto him.

She’d never had so much sex in her life, but somehow, she was always ready for another round when he fixed that seductive and slightly wild gaze on her. He made her want to be wild too, to try things she’d never tried, to let him know how good he made her feel and to make him feel just as good.

One night, after a rather endearing trip to the Museum of Northern History during which Tormund’s excitement had him lit up like a lightbulb, Brienne checked another off the list of “things she’d never tried.” They’d actually moved from the couch to the bed this time, and she was naked on top of him, swirling her tongue around in his mouth, when he told her to sit up on her knees. He began wriggling himself down the bed until his head was between her legs. She realized too late what he wanted and began protesting immediately.

“Tormund, no! I’m too big, I’ll hurt you…”

“Brienne,” he said in a low, gravelly voice. “I like that you’re big. I like that you could hurt me. Don’t you know by now how _fucking_ sexy I think you are? _Please_ ,” he practically begged as he ran his hands up her thighs and rested them on her hips, tugging down gently. The intensity of his need for her made her inhibitions fade away, her only concern their shared pleasure. She held on to the headboard of the bed and lowered herself down, gasping when her sensitive folds met the scratch of his beard.

Tormund’s tongue eagerly parted her lower lips, licking and sucking at her like a man possessed. She dropped her head between her arms to look down at him, and seeing his eyes closed in pure bliss intensified the already-overwhelming pleasure emanating from under his tongue. He alternated long licks with the flat of his tongue and little circles around her clit with the point. Brienne couldn’t help but writhe on his face, her hips rolling back and forth, loud, primal cries issuing from deep within her.

Her hips began jerking uncontrollably, tension coiling and coiling inside her until it snapped. Her knuckles turned white from gripping the headboard so hard, and she stayed just coherent enough to not suffocate Tormund underneath her. Her head flew back and eyes squeezed shut, her body rocked with explosion after explosion. Tormund didn’t let up on her, sucking on her clit harder until she screamed. His hands kneaded her ass cheeks and pulled her down, feasting on her like he was starving. She had to pull away after her orgasm receded, feeling over-sensitized and overwhelmed with new sensations. She rolled off him and onto her back, one arm thrown over her eyes, chest heaving. She finally looked over to see Tormund on his side, propped up on his elbow, with a satisfied and slightly cocky look on his face.

“See, I knew you would like that. You just have to trust me.”

Brienne rolled her eyes dramatically before allowing him a smile. “Fine, you were right. That was…pretty amazing.”

She grabbed him around the waist and pulled him on top of her, then proceeded to show him how amazing she could make _him_ feel for the rest of the night.


	15. Last Day

_Saturday. It’s Saturday. My last day here._

Brienne’s thoughts swirled tumultuously in her head as she woke, trying not to stir too much and disturb Tormund, who was wrapped around her back like a barnacle. His thighs pressed up against hers and his hand rested on her hip. His breath tickled the short hairs at the nape of her neck. 

She sighed heavily, debating whether to gently extricate herself from the bed or to snuggle closer into Tormund. She compromised by rolling onto her back and pulling his arm over her chest, running her nails up and down his forearm. She stared at the ceiling and tried to think only about the immediate future – what they would do with their last day together, whether there was any position or location they hadn’t yet had sex in and how they’d remedy that oversight.

Even so, thoughts about her flight tomorrow and about the days, weeks and months following intruded into her pleasant reverie. She’d fly back to King’s Landing and be surrounded again by tall buildings and concrete and places that reminded her of Jaime. She honestly hadn’t thought about him in days, maybe even more than a week, and when she did it was comparing him unfavorably to Tormund. But without Tormund and the distance between them, would she feel the same? 

“You are the loudest thinker I’ve ever met.” Tormund’s eyes were still closed, but his mouth quirked up at the corners when she looked over at him.

“Sorry. I’m trying not to.”

He looked at her then. “Thinking about tomorrow?”

A heavy sigh escaped her lips. “Yeah. And after that. I just…thought I'd be excited about going back to King’s Landing for my last year, but I'm really not.”

His fingers moved in slow circles across her skin. “Well, it's only a year, right? Then you can go wherever you want.”

“Wherever has a good law school. The choices are pretty limited.”

“Brienne, you’re one of the smartest people I know. You’ll make the right decision. But right now, can I take your mind off things?” He smirked and moved backwards down the bed, planting open-mouthed kisses as he went. When his tongue delved inside her folds, her mind really did go blessedly blank.

 

They finally made it out of bed near noon, deciding to stay close to home and walk around Winterfell for the day. While waiting for Tormund to finish getting dressed, Brienne idly flipped through the channels on the TV.

Her ears perked up suddenly at a familiar name. She put the remote down, leaned toward the TV and turned up the volume.

“Two members of one of the most influential families in Westeros were arrested today, after a multi-year investigation into their company’s activities. Tywin Lannister, CEO of Lannister Inc, and his daughter, CFO Cersei Baratheon, were arrested on several counts including fraud, conspiracy and insider trading.”

Brienne swallowed down a bout of nausea as she watched the video footage of Tywin Lannister being led out of his King’s Landing penthouse in handcuffs, then Cersei, somehow still looking resplendent, being herded into a police car. The newscaster’s words barely registered, but she did hear something about fooling investors and inflating stock.

She flew off the couch and yelled over her shoulder, “I need to make a phone call!” as she ran into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. 

She dialed Sansa frantically. Sansa picked up on the second ring, not bothering to say hello. “Did you see?” she said, sounding a little breathless. 

“Yes. Holy shit.”

“Holy shit,” Sansa repeated, apparently feeling just about as articulate as Brienne in that moment.

They just listened to each other breathe for a beat before Sansa finally spoke again. “Do you think Jaime knew?”

“I don’t think so,” Brienne answered immediately. “He was always talking about how he knew nothing about what was happening in the business, how he didn’t even want to work there, how Cersei was really the brains behind the whole operation.” Her stomach roiled. She didn’t think Jaime was involved in any of this, but even if he weren’t, his life would never be the same. He didn’t have the best relationship with his family, but they were still his family. 

“What are you going to do?” Sansa asked in a small voice, and Brienne knew she was referring both to what she was going to do right now, and when she got back to King’s Landing.

Brienne sighed heavily. “I don’t know. Should I call him? We haven’t talked in months, but he might need someone to talk to…”

“He does have his brother. What about a text to let him know you’re available if he does need to talk? But Bri…what if he wants to get back together?”

Sansa, of course, knew about Jaime’s family’s animosity toward her and the rift it had caused in their relationship. Brienne let out a big gust of air. She thought about all the issues they had, chief among them his family, but also her never feeling good enough for him, not feeling like he was proud of her, and the fact that they came from such wildly different worlds. Then she thought about Tormund and how he conspicuously held her hand while walking down the street and complimented her constantly and opened up to her so easily and got _her_ to open up so easily.

She moved on quickly from that line of thought and shook her head as if Sansa could see her. “No, we’re not getting back together. I’ll be there for him as a friend if he needs me, but no more.”

“I’m proud of you,” Sansa said in a cheerful voice. “The Brienne from three months ago would have waffled for days at that question.”

Brienne smiled. “I’ve learned a lot about myself lately.”

“Speaking of…how’s the sexual awakening going?”

Brienne chuckled. “Is that what this is? I guess it’s going well…I’m _definitely_ more awake.”

“Well I’m very happy for you,” Sansa said with a laugh. “And I demand more details when you get home in a few days.”

“Yes ma’am,” Brienne replied.

They hung up with promises of a girls’ night with wine and cheesy romantic comedies next week.

Brienne fired off a text to Jaime before she thought too much about it.

_**B: Just saw the news…I’m sorry. Hope you are doing ok. Call me if you need to talk.** _

She exited the bathroom and almost ran smack into Tormund, who was standing in front of the door with a concerned look. “Is everything ok? You ran in there pretty fast…”

She tried to make her voice as light as possible. “Yeah, everything is ok. I’ll tell you about it later. Ready to go?”

He put his arm around her shoulders and walked her to the door.

They spent the rest of the day walking around Winterfell. They got fancy coffees and muffins from the café, browsed the bookstore for several hours and laughed a little too loud reading each other passages from a terrible fanfic-inspired BDSM novel, added a few more items to Tormund’s wish list in the outdoor store, and shot each other with foam darts in the toy shop. By the time they’d hit all the stores, Brienne’s stomach was growling audibly. 

“You ready for dinner? How about we go back to the scene of the crime, as it were?” He gestured across the street to the red and black awning of the She-Wolf. She laughed and nodded, and he wrapped his arm around her waist and led her inside.

It had only been two weeks since she’d been in here, but it seemed like ages. The crowd was a bit different since it was dinner time, but it still had that comfortable, slightly grimy feeling she loved.

They sat at a small round table in the back and ordered beers, then burgers. While they waited, she told him about what she’d seen on the news this morning. Tormund knew she’d just gotten out of a long relationship, but she hadn’t revealed much in the way of details. She told him about how horrid Jaime’s family had been to her and how that had been the straw that broke the camel’s back. She was surprised to find she didn’t feel especially sad when talking about it, just indifferent. 

Tormund looked thoughtful for a moment, then folded his hands on the table and leaned toward her. “So now that his family is out of the way, does that mean…”

“No,” she said vehemently, shaking her head. “It’s over.”

Just then, their server came with their burgers. Brienne was thankful for the interruption, but knew she’d have to say what she needed to say sooner rather than later.

She was quiet while they ate, listening to Tormund talk about his next tour, the business, his nieces. When they finished, he pushed his plate away from him and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms over his broad chest. “So, you gonna tell me what’s on your mind now?" 

Brienne pretended to look confused for a second before sighing and putting her elbow on the table, propping her chin up on her hand. “Tormund...I’ve had a _really_ great time with you these past two weeks…”

“…But you don’t want anything beyond that,” he finished. “I get it. I’d like to be more than a quick vacation fling, but I’ll take what I can get.” His voice was light, but his eyes betrayed him.

Brienne’s stomach clenched. “I need you to know this isn’t about you at all. You are wonderful, in so many ways. But I have to choose me right now. I’m going to be finishing up my senior year, applying to law schools and clerkships, and honestly, I don’t know what college is like single, so I want to try that for a while.” 

He reached across the table and took her hand. “Just don’t totally forget about me, okay?”

“Trust me, I could never forget about you. I have a feeling the memories from this trip will keep me warm on many a cold, lonely night.” She blushed even as a mischievous smirk formed on her mouth.

Tormund’s eyes shot to the bathroom, the site of their first encounter, then back to her. “We’ve still got tonight. What do you say we make some more?” Brienne watched his tongue moisten his top lip. _Another one for the “never have I ever” game_ , she thought before standing up quickly.

“I think I need to use the restroom,” she murmured in his ear as she slid past him, dragging her hands along his shoulders and back. She walked into the bathroom and pulled the door shut, the turned around to face it. She was met seconds later by Tormund’s bulk crashing through the door and colliding with her body, slamming the door behind him with one hand as the other grabbed the back of her head.

Their lips and tongues met roughly, hands moving along any exposed skin they could reach. Brienne pushed Tormund against the door and pressed the length of her body against him. He squeezed her ass and moved his mouth along her jawline, then down her throat and along her collarbone. He pulled the neck of her shirt down and sucked a nipple into his mouth, sending jolts of electricity straight between her thighs.

She pulled his head up and moved her hands down to his pants, frantically unbuttoning and unzipping, pushing them along with his underwear down to his ankles. She grabbed his cock, running her thumb over the leaking slit at the top, and he groaned into her neck. Brienne was glad, for once, that she actually thought to wear a skirt, because he easily pushed it up around her hips and pulled her underwear down.

They moaned into each other’s mouths when Tormund’s fingers slipped between her legs into the warm wetness pooling there. Brienne lifted one leg and wrapped it around the back of Tormund’s thighs, pulling him closer. He pressed his forehead against hers and grinned before taking his length in his hand and guiding it inside her. She whimpered and clawed at his back even before he began moving, slowly at first, then harder and faster as her moans intensified. He flattened his palm against the wall and thrust into her so powerfully that she nearly lifted off the ground with every stroke.

“Oh, _gods_ ,” she moaned into his neck, trying to keep her voice down and only somewhat succeeding. His cock was pounding that magic spot inside her that no one had ever discovered. She crested the hill of her climax and fell quickly, shattering and quivering around him. He held her up as her legs went weak, whispering, “ _that’s it, come for me_.” She bit his shoulder to stifle a cry and triggered his own orgasm, his hips jerking into her and his hand smacking hard against the wall.

He leaned his weight onto her as he pumped his hips one last time, then stilled, breathing hard into her neck. Brienne’s arms wrapped around his shoulders and head fell back to rest against the door. She opened her eyes and looked at him through hooded lids. “I can’t believe I just did that,” she panted as her breathing returned to normal.

Tormund smiled a truly shit-eating grin before pulling out of her with a soft gasp. Brienne was still leaning back against the door, unable to move just yet, so after Tormund zipped himself up, he knelt down and pulled her underwear up and smoothed the fabric of her skirt down. Not that it mattered – anyone who saw them come out of the bathroom would know exactly what they’d been doing.

Brienne felt so thoroughly well-fucked that she didn’t even care that the insides of her thighs were still wet and sticky. She followed Tormund out of the bathroom and let him lead her to the door, throwing a few bills on their table to cover their dinner on the way out. They walked hand in hand back to Tormund’s apartment to make the most of their last night together.


	16. Goodbyes and Hellos

Brienne and Tormund stood in front of his van in the passenger drop-off area at the airport. It was so early that the sky hadn’t even begun to lighten, the only source of illumination coming from the fluorescent-lit awning over them. Brienne just stared at him for a second, not wanting to initiate the hug that would be her last. She studied his features as if memorizing them – his shiny russet hair, thick eyebrows, endearingly crooked nose, sharp cheekbones, kissable lips, and kind, seafoam-green eyes. Tormund’s hand came up to brush her cheek and she closed her eyes and leaned into it. He brought his other hand up and pulled her in for a slow, yet chaste kiss.

“Thank you,” he said as he pulled back, still cradling her face.

Brienne’s hands came up to encircle his wrists. “For what?”

“For giving me two of the best weeks of my life.”

Brienne smiled and leaned against him, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing him close. “I should be thanking you,” she said into his shoulder.

Tormund pulled back to look at her. “Can I at least have your phone number? Promise I’ll try to give you your space and not be too annoying.”

Brienne chuckled. “You will not annoy me. If anything, I’m going to annoy you, making sure you’re registered for classes and going to office hours and studying for your exams. I’m going to be worse than your mom.”

“Only if you call me daddy,” he replied with a smirk.

She smacked him playfully on the arm before pulling him in for another kiss. They stood with their foreheads pressed together, reluctant to pull away. “I should go get in line,” she said softly, staring down at his shoes.

He embraced her with a fierce strength, nearly squeezing the air out of her lungs, before loosening his grip and taking her hands in his. “Travel safe. If you ever need a break from the big city, you’re always welcome here.”

Brienne turned to the van to get her bags. She was already close to tears – she couldn’t stare into those eyes for one more second for fear of them spilling over.

After pulling her bags to the sidewalk, she rested her hands on his burly chest and kissed him one last time. “Bye, Tormund.”

“Bye, Brienne. Now get out of here, before I steal you away and never let you go back south.”

She laughed as she walked inside, looking back one more time to see him leaning against his van, arm raised. She returned the gesture before turning into the airport and making her way back to King’s Landing. Once, she would have referred to it as “home,” but she couldn’t help but feel like she was leaving home now.

* * *

  

***One year later***

Brienne swung her legs out of the moving truck and took in a deep lungful of crisp Northern air. She stood in front of her new apartment building right outside the campus of North Westeros University, within walking distance of the Law building. The decision to apply to NWU’s law school hadn’t been difficult, especially after learning they specialized in human rights law. Although she’d kept in touch with Tormund, exchanging friendly texts and the occasional phone call, she decided not to tell him until she made it to campus.

Her senior year really had been everything she wanted it to be – she’d had great times with her friends, gotten good grades, landed a choice internship with a small law firm in King’s Landing, and all but forgot about “the ex,” as she’d taken to calling him. Although she thought about Tormund often, it was with fondness over what they had instead of sadness about what could have been.

She’d told herself at first that her decision to come to NWU for law school was strictly about the environment and the school itself and nothing to do with Tormund, but as her move-in date approached, she thought about him more and more, and secretly hoped he hadn’t gotten swooped up by one of the girls in his business classes.

Her father had come with her to help her move in, so while he directed the movers, she slipped out and made her way downtown. She stood in the street below Tormund’s apartment and took out her phone.

Tormund answered after one ring. “Hello, blue eyes. To what do I owe this nice surprise?”

“Look out your front window.”

She looked up to see him duck under the hanging plants, squint, freeze for a moment, then dart away from the window.

A moment later, he burst through the door between the storefronts and ran across the street, not bothering to look for oncoming cars. He barreled into her and swept her up in a crushing hug, lifting her off her feet. “What are you doing here?” he said breathlessly into her shoulder.

She put her feet down on the ground and leaned back to look at him, smiling from ear to ear. “I decided on a law school. It’s got a great human rights program, beautiful scenery…and the presence of a particularly handsome redheaded wildling doesn’t hurt.”

Tormund cupped her face in his hands. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away,” he said with a smirk before pulling her in for a kiss. “You’ve got the North in you now.” 

Brienne stared into his green eyes and smiled the contented smile of a woman who knew she was exactly where she was meant to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, that's it! This was a much bigger undertaking than I originally expected, and I learned so much from it, namely that I'm an extremely slow writer and should probably have more than one chapter written before I post 😂 Thank you for sticking with me and for all the kudos and comments, they really mean a lot to me!


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